Falling Slowly
by Eowyn628
Summary: Nora Munson returns to Charming after being away for years. She is running from her past but soon learns that the past will always find you. Along the way she finds a little slice of heaven and learns she can teach a broken heart to love again. Rated M for lemons, language and possible violence.
1. Home

_"_ _Falling slowly, eyes that know me_

 _And I can't go back_ _  
_ _Moods that take me and erase me_ _  
_ _And I'm painted black_ _  
_ _You have suffered enough_ _  
_ _And warred with yourself_ _  
_ _It's time that you won"_

 _~ Falling Slowly_

* * *

Charming, California. I hadn't been back in nearly five years and nothing seemed to have changed, at least on the outside. It was the same small, sleepy town I grew up in. It was as if time froze solid while I had been away at art school in New York. If anything had changed it's me; I was not the same naïve girl. I no longer lived in the bubble that had always shielded me. I learned that my family could not always protect me. I missed them so much, especially my Dad. He had always been my rock; the one I could always count on throughout my life. I needed him more than ever but I couldn't risk telling him. Just having him near would help, at least I hoped.

I pulled my rental car into a parking spot at Teller-Morrow and took a quick glance at the row of motorcycles, hoping to catch a glance of my dad's Harley. Oh, who was I kidding? I had no clue which bike was his; he had told me a while ago he was in the market for a new Harley. So, I was sure he must have gotten an upgrade by that point. Looking was really, more out of habit than anything; before I left I could have named everyone who was at the clubhouse just by the bikes that were parked outside. Now, I had no clue.

As I looked in the mirror, I realized that I was probably going to get shit for my teal hair and septum piercing but I could've done a lot worse to my body or with my life. I could have dropped out of college and became a junky or could have whored myself out like one of the croweaters. Hell, my dad never would have allowed me to do that and I could always remove my piercing and dye my hair back to its natural golden brown color. Still, worry was written across my face.

The warm air hit me hard as I got out of the rental. I hadn't realized how much I missed the hot, aridness of the desert. A deep breath filled my lungs, it was so refreshing; the cleansing familiarity of the air washed away all my worries. This was the air I grew up with, this was home. I took one more refreshing breath for good measures before I made my way to the open garage.

He was like a magnet; I was instantly drawn to him and his lean, muscular stature. He was staring intently under the hood of a car with his back to me. I would have recognized him anywhere. Jackson Teller had become my muse during my time in New York, especially when I was having a bad day. I could sketch any of the Sons from memory but I remembered Jax's contours and features the best, even better than my dad. I started to make my way towards him but I was stopped by an employee of Teller Morrow, who I didn't know.

"Can I help you?" The man asked.

I studied him briefly, he wasn't bad on the eyes. He had a slim but muscular body and sandy blond hair. His eyes were bright blue and full of life. He looked like he was a happy man.

"I am looking for Bobby, is he here?" I asked, allowing my eyes to drift past him to Jax, whose attention had turned to us. His eyes locked with mine and he gave me a questioning smile, I could tell it dawned on him who I was.

"Um. No… he's not here now. I think he'll be back tonight for the party." The man stuttered. "You can always come back then."

I nodded. He had no clue who I was, I could have some fun. "Oh…okay. Maybe I will. I mean if you're sure Bobby is going to be there." I was pretty sure that this guy thought I was some piece of ass looking to get tapped. "Is the party here in the garage?" I smirked over at Jax, who raised an eye brow at me. I was sure he knew I was up to no good. I had always been a bit of a tease and trouble maker when it to guys.

"Oh, no. It's in the clubhouse over there." He pointed at SAMCRO's clubhouse. It still looked the same as I remembered. Like I said frozen in time.

"Alright, well maybe I will see you tonight. Thank you…." I paused waiting for the man's name.

"Half-Sack, I mean Kip." He ran his hand through his already messy hair.

"Well what is it, Half-Sack or Kip?" I quipped; knowing that the club occasionally gave their members nicknames. Just before I had left to go to New York the prospect at the time earned himself the nickname of Juice, which was far better than calling him Juan Carlos all the time. I immediately wondered if Juice had made it full fledge or if he was let go. He was a nice guy, he often let me sketch him; I really liked his smile. If there was one thing I had learned it was nice guys normally didn't make it far with SAMCRO.

"Um…" Kip or Half Sack or whatever his name was started.

"Prospect, aren't you supposed to be picking up that car at the impound?" Jax hollered at Half-Sack, who had turned to look at him.

I knew it. He was a prospect.

The prospect ran his hand through his hair again before turning back to me. "I'll see you tonight then." He ran towards the tow truck and waved as he drove off.

I couldn't help but shake my head and smile. He was such an enthusiastic prospect. At least he had that going for him. It made me wonder if he was that eager in the sack. Hell, I would probably never find out, he would find out I am a member's daughter and that would be enough to scare him off. That tended to be the reaction of the prospects and the other members of the club. I was off limits because I was a patch member's daughter. At least I could watch him squirm a bit when he found out who I was. I almost felt bad, wait…no, I didn't.

"Nora, how you doing sweetheart?" Jax's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

His proximity made my stomach flip. "Hey Jackson." I turned to face him. "I'm good, now that I am home." I admitted. "What about you, Jax? How are you?"

"Oh, you know same old shit, different day." He smiled. "Your dad, know your home?"

Shit, that smile. That smile that made me weak in my knees.

"No, I wanted to surprise him." I smiled.

Jax opened him mouth to say more but he was interrupted by the ringing of my cell. I frowned as I pulled it out of my bag and glance at the caller. It was Rose.

"I'm sorry Jax, I need to take this call. I'll see you tonight." I quickly turned with no further explanation and I made my way towards my car to find out was going on with Rose. No need for them to find out what was going on. I hoped now that I was home, New York would stay in New York.

* * *

I couldn't shake Rose's call as I got ready for the party. It had put me on edge and made my dream of a happy home coming dreary. I was, however, glad that I had left New York when I did; it was the best decision I had made in ages. I really hoped that my mistakes didn't bleed into my life in Charming because nothing good would come from it. I took a long drink of beer as I tried to push the thoughts of my past mistakes out of my mind.

Instead of continuing to dwell on things that I couldn't change, I let my mind wander to Jax. The last time I had seen him things were slightly awkward between us. I had a little too much to drink at my going away party and confessed my feelings to him. I couldn't remember much from that night but that was one _VERY_ vivid part of the evening. After I had spilled my guts to Jax, we kissed. It would have been great had all the alcohol I had drank decided to make a reappearance, if you catch my drift. That was the last thing I remembered until I woke up the next morning alone with a raging hangover in Jax's dorm room. I was not planning on vomiting at this party. I was going to try to limit the amount I drank but I really needed to relax a bit and forget. My nerves were on high alert after everything that happened back in New York City.

I looked at myself in the mirror, the teal haired girl staring back at me was not the same one who was in there the last time I set foot in my childhood home. I am sure my life had not changed for the better albeit, I was stronger for everything that had happened. I was no longer the girl with a flowery outlook on life; I had found out that life was not just rainbow and butterflies and that my family's influence couldn't always safe me. I had learned quickly who I was without the club and its protection. I didn't always like the girl I had become. Sometimes life was just easier when you lived in a bubble surrounded by a whole club house of big, bad, overprotective bikers. I would have told that stupid naïve girl that too, if I had met her.

The parking lot was full when I finally pulled up to SAMCROs clubhouse. For some reason, I was a bundle of nerves as I got out of her rental. It was strange because I had always felt at home at the clubhouse; I had grown up there. I had always referred to most of the members and their old ladies as my uncles and aunts. There was no reason for me to be so anxious about walking through the familiar doors again. As I reached the door there were a few cat calls from some of the men sitting outside. Somethings never changed, they see a new piece of ass and they try to get her attention and hope that she wasn't a prude or worse yet just a tease.

The clubhouse smelled just as I remembered; to some it might smell off but to me it was the smell of my childhood. My eyes searched the crowd of men and women looking for the one face I wanted to see, more than anyone else. It wasn't hard to find him with his large stature and curly brown hair. He was standing with his back to me talking to Clay and Tig. I watched him talk exuberantly for a few seconds before walking over and tapping him on the back. He turned and I flung myself into him before he knew what was happening.

"Nori?" He wrapped his arms around me, I finally felt safe. Tears welled up in my eyes; I wasn't a crier, I hope I wasn't getting softer in my old age. I must have missed my dad more than had realized. I was being held out at arm's length as Dad took a closer look at me. "When did you get back? I thought graduation was a few weeks away."

I was about to answer him but was interrupted by the exuberant prospect. "This was the one I was telling you about Bobby." His voice was full of excitement.

"Prospect, this is…" My dad started but I shook my head at him. He raised an all-knowing eyebrow, I was up to my old tricks. Somethings never changed. I had always enjoyed giving the prospects a hard time; it must have been the sadistic part of me that enjoyed seeing them squirm.

"I want to know what he told you," I smirked as I slowly said the next part. "Daddy."

The color left Half-Sack's face and he swallowed slowly. "I…um…" He stuttered. He really had stuck his foot in his mouth. I later found out he had told my dad that a sexy, little thing with a tight body was looking for him today.

"What's wrong prospect? Cat got your tongue?" Dad laughed. "You not going to tell my daughter, what you said you would do to her, if you ever saw her again?"

"No. I…" Sack's face paled as he turned quickly and made his way back behind the bar.

"I have never seen the prospect speechless. Leave it to you, Nora." Clay said as he put his arm around me and hugged me to him. "Welcome home, sweetheart."

"What can I say, Uncle Clay. I have a way with men." I smiled up at him. "And I am so happy to be home." I was glad that they were treating me the same.

"Have enough of the Big Apple?" Clay asked.

I snorted, "Yeah, you could say that." Truth be told, I loved New York and the East Coast, it was a refreshing change from Charming. And if I wanted to get anywhere in the fashion world, I would have stayed on the east coast but things just got too complicated, too messy and far too intense for me to deal with. So, I decided to make my way back to Charming. "I didn't really care about walking in the graduation ceremony. I mean you guys weren't going to be there. I have my degree either way. Since I wasn't walking I decided to come home early and surprise you all." Little did I know my dad was planning on coming to see me walk. He had already purchased his non-refundable ticket. I was a shitty daughter.

"Nora what did you do to your hair?" He plucked a strand of my hair and acted as if he were examining it. He has something on his mind, I could read it in his eyes. I wanted to tell him to just spit it out but I refrained.

I swatted my dad's hand away. "I needed a change." Was the only explanation I allowed him. "Speaking of need. I NEED a drink!" I pointed to the bar as I hastily took my exit. A quick sigh of relief escaped my lips, I didn't want to risk any having anyone ask me any more questions about New York. I was liable to spill my guts, especially to my dad.

Half-Sack eyed me leerily, "So…you're Bobby's daughter."

"Guilty." An innocent smile crossed my lips as I climbed up onto a stool, sitting on my knees so I could lean over the bar. "Not something I normally need to tell people around here."

"You let me act like a fool. I told your dad some stupid shit." Sack admitted quietly as he leaned close to me. He smelt good, like shampoo and cologne.

The poor prospect was embarrassed. He looked like a poor little lost puppy, who had been kicked a few times. "I'm sorry that you embarrassed yourself in front of my dad. Don't worry though you aren't the first prospect to stick your foot in your mouth around my dad. Juice smacked my ass thinking I was a croweater, in front of my dad. At least you have an excuse, you have never met me, he had."

Poor Juice, I thought as I remembered that night. I was playing a game of pool with Jax when Juice planted a firm smack on my behind, it stung. My dad swiftly rectified the situation. Juice knew better after that to lay a hand on Bobby's 17-year-old daughter after that. In Juice's defense, I was dressed a bit too provocatively for a teenager. I was going through my dress like a croweater phase. I may have acted a bit too much like them at that point in my life as well. Don't get me wrong I still liked to flirt…a lot and occasionally had one night stands; I never considered herself a slut or someone who could be passed around from guy to guy, that was the difference between a croweater and myself. I was selective, they well were not.

"Listen, my dad is easy to forgive so don't worry about it okay." I tried to reassure the prospect. "If he forgave Juice, he can forgive you. Unless of course I don't forgive you, then…" I smirked. "well, you're screwed."

Half-Sack stared me for a moment before saying, "Nora, I am sorry for what I said."

"No, you aren't, you're just sorry you got caught." I teased. "I'll forgive you if you let me make a drink." I quickly hopped off the stool and made my way behind the bar. It wasn't often I was allowed behind the bar. The last time I was back there was my going away party.

Sack stepped away from the bar, "By all means." He smiled, ease washed over him.

"Oh, and you need to drink whatever I make." I started grabbing bottles from the shelves and placing them on the bar. Finally, I grabbed a sleek metal shaker and started to fill it with each of the different liquors.

"Impressive. Where'd you learn to shake like that?" A familiar voice startled me, I quickly turned to see Juice smiling broadly.

"Wouldn't you like to know." I raised an eyebrow and went back to shaking but continued to observe Juice.

He had shaved and tattooed his head. I liked it, it fit him. He wore a leather kutt and no longer had a prospect patch. I was glad to see he didn't have a Men of Mayhem patch, I was aware of what that meant. It was nice to see the club hadn't tainted him too badly yet. I liked Juice how he was, sweet and naïve, there was something very boy like about him that I hadn't seen in any of the other Sons.

Juice shook his head. "You really shouldn't have let her back there, Prospect. Well unless you want to clean up her vomit later." He grinned at me. "What are you making any way?"

"A Dirty Biker." I poured the liquid into two shot glasses. "You want one?" I couldn't believe that Juice had brought up my stomach pyrotechnics. I guess I was never going to live down vomiting on Jax, EVER!

"Um." Juice studied the brown liquid. "What is it?"

"Come on live a little." I shoved one of the shots towards Juice and the other to Half Sack before pouring the remainder of the drink into a larger glass. Yes, the drink was meant to be a shot but I needed more than just one shot. "Bottoms up boys." I downed the drink and slammed my glass on the bar lightly.

"Wow. That was good Nora. Where did you learn to make that?" Juice asked genuinely.

"I worked as a bartender part time while in school. I made up the shot when I was home sick and bored one night." When I was in New York, I thought about my family often. I missed them so much especially when things were going so wrong. I tried to push that all out of my head as I poured myself a beer and stepped out from behind the bar. "Thank you, Kip." I patted him on the shoulder and turned to Juice. "I'm glad to see you're a full member." I hugged Juice. It was so familiar, it made me so happy to be home.

"Glad to see you didn't get sucked into the city life." Juice was from Queens, so had given me lots of advice about New York and what to watch for. He had hoped that the city life wouldn't mar my spirit and to the outside world it was going to be that way…it was just me, it wouldn't be.

"Yeah." I just nodded. New York would have been great if it wasn't for Sarah. After meeting her everything changed for me. My life hasn't been the same since she entered my world. "I think I am going to go get some air. It was good seeing you, Juice. We have to catch up." I was feeling claustrophobic, like the walls were closing in on me.

The hot California air hit me and I felt instant relief. When I was in New York, I had never felt the same reprieve as I did at that very moment. It was like the heat washed over me and eased my anxiety. Maybe it was just the fact that I was home and I didn't have to worry about things. I was safe when I was home. If not I had a building full of bikers to take care of my problems. I just had to let them in.

"So how bad did you make him squirm?" Jax called from the picnic table behind me.

"I'm sure he came close to shitting his pants." I made my way to the table and sat down across from him. I could've drank Jackson in for hours. "So where is the ball and chain?" I asked. He had gotten married to the junkie, Wendy after I left for college.

"Beats the hell out of me. Last I heard she was in treatment." Jax took a long drag from his cigarette. "She knows better than to shower face around here for a while after she put our kid in the NICU for a few months."

Kid? My dad never told me anything about a kid. "So, you're someone's dad now?" Jax had told me he never wanted to bring kids into this world and look at him now.

"Yeah, Abel. My mom has him right now so I could be here. He's definitely a Teller. Kid's got a lot of fight in him." Jackson said proudly.

"Good. I'm happy for you Jax." I smiled as a beer was sat down in front of me and Jax. I glanced up and saw a face that I didn't think I would see in a very long time. "Oh, my god, Opie!" I jumped up quickly and embraced him. I hadn't seen him since the night he was arrested. "How are Donna and the kids?" I asked.

A sorrowful look crossed Opie's face. "Shit, you don't know." His voice was full of sadness.

I searched his face and then glanced over at Jax, whose face was hooded with pain. "What? What don't I know?" Anxiety filled my body. I wanted to take everything back. I wanted to rewind the moment, I didn't want bad news. I couldn't handle it.

Opie looked down at me, all I could concentrate on was the grief in his hazel eyes. I didn't want to hear what he had to say. "Donna was murdered about a month ago."

My legs gave out on me, thankfully Opie grabbed me before I hit the ground. Tears pooled in my eyes. Murdered? Why hadn't my dad told me about it? Donna and I were as thick as thieves before I had left for New York. We tried to stay touch as much as possible but life happened and we hadn't talked in about six months. A loud sob escaped my lips as Opie pulled me into him. "Please tell me you're lying." I begged, knowing that he wouldn't be that cruel to lie about something like that.

"I'm sorry, Nora." Opie whispered, his own eyes threatened tears.

I pulled away from him and stared up at his towering stature. "No, Op. I'm sorry. I wish I had known. I can't believe my dad didn't tell me. I would have been here in a heartbeat if I had known. Please let me know if you need help with Kenny and Ellie." Shit, what a mind fuck, the news of Donna's death was to me. I didn't know what else to say to Opie. I just hurt so much for him.

"Of course. Now join us for a beer and tell us why you dyed your hair this color." Opie said lightly as he tucked a piece of loose hair behind my ear.

I raised an eyebrow at Opie as I sat down and took a drink out of my beer. "I guess I need a change." I stated.

"A change?" Jax teased as he smirked at Opie, who shrugged in response.

"Oh, come on, I was an Art Major. Do you think I am going to go normal?" I smirked, which was quickly wiped from my face as I noticed the woman who had just sat down next to Jax and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You have to be fucking kidding me." I blurted out without even thinking.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Thank you all for reading the first chapter of** ** _Falling Slowly_** **. I hope you all enjoyed it so far. Please feel free to leave a review.  
SIDE NOTE: I do not own the rights to and of the SOA characters, places or plot lines (which may loosely be followed); I do, however, own the rights to my OCs.  
Until next time…Cheers! **


	2. A Party and a Death

Chapter 2

* * *

The glare Jax directed at me could have cleared the whole of Charming. "Are you fucking kidding me right now, Nora?" His voice was just as angry as his look.

I flinched at the harshness directed towards me. In my defense, I regretted what I said as soon as the words slipped from my lips. However, I could honestly say that it annoyed me to see Tara sitting across the table in Jackson's good graces. And obviously in his bed. I chewed on my lower lip, trying to fight back the tears before standing up.

"I'm sorry. I may have just overreacted. I really don't have an excuse for my behavior." I stared Jax down, his stormy blue eyes lightened. "It was good to see you Opie." I touched his shoulder lightly before walking away.

Ugh, such a walk of shame. I hadn't even been in Charming for 12 hours and I had already fucked shit up. I was just about to the club house when a had grabbed my shoulder and stopped me in my tracks.

"Nora!" I turned to face Jax, who was staring at me.

I frowned, "what Jackson?" I didn't let him answer me before I continued. "I am really sorry about my reaction Jax. I may have only been 12 when Tara left you, but I remember how badly you hurt. Maybe you don't remember how broken she left you but I do." _That was when I fell for Jax Teller_. "I don't ever want to see you like that ever again. And, sure there is a part of me that is jealous and that totally came out. But Jax if you are happy, then I can be happy for you. I can even give Tara a chance and even benefit of the doubt, that is if she'll forgive me for what I said."

See I could be an adult about that, even if Jackson was my first crush. I would have called him my first love but, what did I know about love back then? Even at that point I could honestly say I had never really, ever been in love with anyone. I had never connected with anyone the way I had seen those around me connect. The way Opie and Donna, Jax and Tara or even Clay and Gemma were bonded. If Tara meant nothing to Jackson, he wouldn't have reacted the way he did. He still loved her, deeply.

Jax sighed, "How do you always do that?"

"How do I do what?" I snapped.

"Make me feel bad when I shouldn't, especially when you are the one who was out of line?" Jax ran his hair through his thick blond hair.

A coy smile crossed my face. I guess I still had the touch without even trying. "I don't mean to make you feel bad. I am just trying to be honest with you." I started back towards the building but not before turning back to Jax. "Tell Tara, I'm sorry."

"I will and Nora no more of that shit, understand?" Gave me a stern look. The look that I knew he meant business and that I shouldn't cross him again.

I felt like shit. I was already for my homecoming to be over with. All I wanted to do was to crawl into my bed and sleep for the next week. Of course, if I did that my dad would know something was going on with me. I was just grateful I was somewhere I could sleep soundly for the first time in months and that called for a week's worth of sleep. At that point I would just go on and focus all my frustration and fear into my art.

I didn't make it very far into the club house before a set of a tattooed arms grabbed me from behind and bear hugged me before lifting me up off the ground. I let out a small squeak in surprise, even though I knew I was safe; there was only one person who ever hugged me like that.

"Put me down!" I yelped as my feet dangled off the ground.

"Good to have you home, lassie." Chibs placed me back on the ground and released me from his death grip.

"You know I am not 12 anymore, right? Or are you going senile in your old age?" I smarted off, knowing I could get away with my sassiness.

Chibs let out a chuckle and smiled. His scars cut deeply into either side of his face and were accentuated even more by his grin. "Aye, lass, I know. I didn't believe your da when he told me what you did to yerself. Had to see it for myself." He jested. Oh, how I missed his thick Scottish accent.

Chibs had always treated me like his own. I think I was the Americanized replacement for his daughter, Kerrianne. We were only a few years apart in age so I think that is why he took to me so much. I was just about as close to him as I was my own dad.

"Why is everyone giving me such grief over my hair? So, what it's teal." Chibs motioned to his septum on his nose. "You do realize, I could have done so much worse to my body when I was in New York! So, I got a few piercings and dyed my hair. It can all be temporary." I sighed.

"True. You know we only give you shite because we love ya." Chibs tried to make me feel better. Unsuccessfully. It had just been such a crap few hours.

"Yeah, yeah. I am sure that it what it is." I shook my head. "Do you know where my dad is?" I had a bone to pick with him.

Chibs brown eyes searched the club house, "last I saw him he was belly up to the bar, with a whore." He nodded his head in the direction of the bar.

I smiled and thanked Chibs before making my way in the direction he had nodded and of course that was where I found a croweater flirting with my dad. I rolled my eyes, how could I have ever thought I wanted to be a croweater? Being passed around from man to man and never having a place. I was so glad that I quickly out grew that stage. Shit, my dad would have never allowed that to happen. He would have killed any of the club members, who touched me.

I touched my dad's shoulder. The croweater glared at me. I had never seen her before, she had long blond hair and annoyed blue eyes. My dad's attention was not easily swayed, because my touch didn't seem to pull his attention from the croweater, who was happy enough to have his attention back on her.

"Daddy!" I said sternly. It was like I was talking to a fucking child.

He dropped his hand from the croweater's chest and turned quickly to me. "Nora? I thought you were out with Jax and Op."

 _Um, yeah, I did catch you fondling tits_. I thought to myself before answering him.

"Not anymore. So, about Opie, why didn't you tell me about Donna?" I asked, ignoring the woman's annoyed stare.

"Sweetheart, it wasn't something I want to tell you over the phone." He responded, he seemed sincere but it wasn't really the answer I wanted.

"So, you thought you would just tell me when I got home?" My voice raised. I could feel my anger rising. I was close to the point where I wasn't going to be able to reign it in.

My dad pushed the croweater off him and stood up and took me lightly by the arm and pulled me away from the others. He lowered his voice, "I don't think this is the time or place to talk about this Nora." There was warning in his tone, like he knew something no one else did.

I let out a huffed sigh, "fine. But you owe me a better explanation than the phone shit, Daddy."

He shook his head, he knew me well enough to know I wouldn't drop it until I found out everything. He could thank Gemma for that. "Tomorrow. We'll go for a ride and we can chat. You can tell me why you came home, instead of walking in your graduation."

Touché. I would find a way around that, or at least fib a bit. He didn't need to know the whole truth or any of it.

"How about you let your old man get you a drink?" He offered with a smile.

I let a smile cross my lips, "of course." I longed to feel the familiarity of home. I still felt like an outsider. There were so many new faces, I had never seen before. My dad patted the stool he had been sitting on. I sat down on it and turned towards him and watched him as he barked orders at the prospect. He had aged since I had seen him last. His beard and hair were longer and grayer and he was slightly rounder than I remembered. But he was still the same happy-go-lucky man, who did a mean impression of Elvis.

"So, I guess you are going to need me to clean up your studio?" He handed me a beer.

I hadn't even thought about it. I hadn't been in my studio in years and told my dad he could rent it out or use it for the club. In high school, I pretty much lived in my studio which was in one of the building on Main Street in Charming. It had been a loft apartment at one point but I used it for my art. The light in it was so amazing; I couldn't have asked for a better gift from my dad. "I guess that would be good. I have all my stuff being shipped back so, I could use a place to put everything. In all honesty, I haven't really felt all that inspired lately."

"It's okay sweetheart. All artists go through lulls." He tried to encourage me, his brown eyes searched mine. "You just need to find your muse again."

I snickered, my muse was currently outside sucking face with the woman, who had broken his heart so deeply he vowed to never love again. But who was I to deny him a piece of happiness again? "Yeah, sure Daddy. Maybe I'll make the prospect my muse." I said loud enough to make Half Sack blush.

"Nora, that isn't funny." My dad teased. "Whatever happened to what's his name?"

Ugh, I knew he was going to bring up my ex. I didn't really want to discuss it but I went ahead and told him. "Zac, we broke up. He cheated on me."

My dad shook his head. "What the fuck? I am sorry baby, is that why you came home early?" He asked.

"Yeah." I muttered. Among other things, I thought to myself.

"Well shit baby. You should have told me, I could have brought some of the guys with me and we could have ruffed him up. You are far too precious to be cheated on." The thought of that made me instantly feel better.

"Daddy, I am sorry that I took you away from that piece of ass." I knew she would be back but just in case she wasn't at least I told him I felt bad about pulling him away.

"Nora Scarlet, don't you ever think that you aren't more important that some croweater. I would walk away from a room full of pussy just to make sure you are happy. Got it?"

"I got it." I don't know why I felt bad about taking him away from the croweater. Maybe it was because I didn't know where my place was anymore. I needed to just let go and stop over thinking things and thinking I was going to be a burden on my family.

The rest of the evening went much better than it started. I ended up playing a drunken game of pool with Juice. He was so much more fun that I had remembered him being. I hadn't laughed that much in months. It was funny what a few drinks and laughing could do for the soul. I felt much more like myself than I had in at least a year. It was so nice, I finally felt like I was back into the groove of things.

* * *

The sun was so bright. Where the fuck was I? Last thing I remembered was losing a hard-fought game of pool to Juice and having to take several very large shots of something of his choosing. I rolled over in the bed only to realize I wasn't alone. _Shit_ , _what did I do?_ I felt by body, I still had my clothing on. I opened my eyes slowly to see Juice laying on top of the blankets I was under. He was on his stomach with him mouth wide open, drooling on his pillow. I stifled a giggle as I slowly climbed out of his bed. I really wanted to draw him so I quickly grabbed my sketch pad out of my bag that was conveniently stashed next to the bed. I made a quick sketch before quietly making my way out the room.

Mission number one, COFFEE. I was seriously hoping that none of the guys were up yet because their coffee making skill sucked, unless you liked grog. I did not. I walked into the kitchen and was met a half-dressed Tara, making coffee. She was wearing a navy SOA shirt and nothing else from what I could tell.

"I didn't know anyone else was up." She motioned to her lack of clothing.

I smiled, "I'll keep an eye out for you if you want." I motioned to the door. I could feel her embarrassment and it would only be worse if a club member walked in. I wouldn't want to be caught half dressed like that.

"Thanks." She smiled as she finished making the coffee. "The guys around here make such shit coffee." Tara said as she walked past me making her way back to Jax dorm room. I was glad she felt the same way as I did.

"Tara, how do you take your coffee?" I asked, she made it I would get her a cup and maybe we could have a chance to talk. I totally started out on the wrong foot with her.

Tara paused for a moment as if she was trying to get a read on me. "Black two sugars." With that she disappeared into Jax's room.

When the coffee was finally done brewing, I poured two cups and walked out to the main part of the club house. As I expected it was strewn with bodies most of them were naked or half naked croweaters with club members. A scene I had become accustom to over the years. As long as I never saw my dad, I was fine with it. Thankfully, he knew this and tended to do things after I left or before I got there. I never, ever wanted to see that. _Ick, gross…next subject._

I found a table that was empty of bodies and sat down. I pulled out my sketch pad and started to fill in the details of sleeping Juice. I giggled as I did it.

"So, you and Juice?" Tara asked. I hadn't even heard her sit down. It didn't surprise me because when I got into a piece of art, I tended to focus on it so much I blocked out the world. That was part of the reason I loved art so much.

"Oh God, no." I said quickly. I could see where she got the idea, I mean I was asleep in his dorm with him and currently sketching his picture. "I guess it probably looks that way though."

Tara laughed, "yeah, it did. Although after he helped you to his room, he came back out." Her green eyes gazed at my work. "Your drawing is really good. I like the drool."

"Thanks. Tara, I think I started out on the wrong foot with you. I am really sorry for how rude I was." I was sincere in my apology. I had no reason other than selfish ones to really dislike her. I knew Jax loved Tara, even after all the years apart. That was the sort of love I longed for.

A smile crossed Tara's face before she brought her coffee mug up to her mouth. "Thank you, Nora. You know I could use more friends here in Charming. Especially ones that are not afraid of the club." Her words rang true. It was hard to find friends who weren't just using you for the club or once they found out you were associated with SAMCRO, they just walked away.

"I'd like that. I don't really have girlfriends here anymore. I mean they all used me anyway, they wanted to be around all the guys." That was one of the reason I went away for school, no one knew who I was. I could start with a clean slate. It was nice thought, having a friend, that was a part of the club, especially since Donna was gone.

Tara and I chatted as I continued to perfect my drawing. Shading and smudging, until my right hand was slate gray. I am glad that she gave me a chance.

"Glad to see there isn't any blood." Jax smirked as he plopped himself in the chair next to Tara.

I glared up at him, "Why must you always bring up the past? I am no longer an impulsive teenager, Jackson."

Jax laughed, "Your stories are just too good not to bring up Nor." He said as pulled my sketch pad away from me.

"So, you and Juice." He teased as he flipped through the pages.

I watched him nervously before answering. Thankfully, I didn't have my obsessive drawing of Jax in my every day book. "No. There is no me and Juice. He slept over the covers. I slept under them. We were both fully clothed and I still had my shoes on. I couldn't resist drawing him, the way he was sleeping made me laugh."

"Uh huh." Jax continued paging through my book. "Nor these are really good. I mean I never doubted your ability to draw but the way you depicted this woman's ass." He held up a drawing I did of one of the nude models that came into one of my classes.

I could feel my face flush red with embarrassment. Tara smacked Jax as he laughed. "I see you didn't say anything about the nude men. Just jumped right over those, huh?"

"Sweetheart, I know what all that shit looks like." Jax smirked. Ugh that smirk, still made my heart beat a bit faster. _Reign it in, Nora._ I told myself.

Tara thankfully changed the subject, "What do you have planned today, Nora?"

Relief washed over me, "My dad and I are going to go for a ride. I need to get my rental car back at some point too. I might head to my studio and see if I can get it cleaned up. I don't want to stay at my dad's too long. What about you?" I asked.

"I have to head in to work soon. I'm scrubbing in for surgery at noon." Tara looked down at her watch.

Of course, she was beautiful, funny and smart. Shit, she saved lives. I was about to answer when my dad walked into the building with Clay and Chibs. He smiled at he made his way to me.

"Morning." He set a brown paper bag down in front of me. "Thought you could use this."

I knew what it was before I even opened the bag. My dad knew me so well. I pulled the bag open and the smell of a freshly baked muffin hit me. I plucked the muffin out of the bag and it was still warm. "You know me so well, Dad."

"Banana chocolate chip with a bit of cinnamon, just like you like." His brown eyes watched me as I placed a bit of the muffin in my mouth.

"Mmm. How have I gone five years without these?" I took a large bite. "Wait?!" I said with a mouth full of muffin. I quickly finished chewing. "You aren't going to take me on a ride today are you?"

My dad shook his head sadly. "No, I'm sorry sweetheart."

Damn it, I fell for it. When I was younger he would make me muffins when he had to do something for the club verse spend time with me. If I ate them he knew I would forgive him. Fuck. "Just because I ate it doesn't mean I am not upset. Dad, I just got home. I, seriously only spent like two seconds with you."

"I know, Nor. I'm sorry. I asked Opie if he could help you get that rental back to the shop. Unless you want Juice to help you." He shook he head.

"Fuck. Everyone just needs to drop this Juice shit! I am not interested in Juice." I was seconds away from stomping my foot on the floor and throwing a temper tantrum like a toddler. "Nothing happened!" My dad raised his hands in defense and laughed.

* * *

I sat on the picnic table and waited for Opie to finish up with what he was working on in the garage at Teller Morrow. The sun felt so good against my bare skin. I couldn't wait to have my sun-kissed glow back again. I closed my eyes and leaned back with my face to the sun. A smile crossed my lips, my worries melted away as the sun's warmth washed over me.

"Hey, there mermaid." Opie's voice called to me. "You ready to go?"

"I prefer the term siren." I slowly opened my eyes and met his gaze. "And yes I am." I hadn't seen Opie in at least seven years. He still looked about the same, well other than he more facial hair than I remember. His hair was hidden under a beanie. Opie's hazel eyes looked sad even though he tried to hide it behind a happy facade.

"Let's get going then. I will let you buy me lunch on the way back." Opie held his hand out to me. I placed mine in his and he gently pulled me from the table.

My stomach lurched and butterflies fluttered wildly when he took my hand into his. _What the hell was that all about?_ I wondered. "Wow, Op that is really gentlemanly of you." I smirked as I quickly made my way to my rental.

I prayed Opie didn't notice how my pulse changed when he touched me. His wife had just died; I had just left my boyfriend of two years; neither of us were in the market for anything. So, I just tried to push whatever just happened deep inside of me.

"I'll see you at the rental place." I called out the car window as I pulled away from Teller-Morrow.


	3. Crush

Chapter 3

* * *

I was staring at a blanket canvas, the same one I had been looking at for over a half hour, when I heard the door on my loft open and close. There was only one person who just walked in.

"Hello sweetheart." Gemma called from behind me.

"Hi, Gemma." I finally looked away from the stark whiteness and made my way over to the small table I had set up as a dining area.

Gemma studied me before she handed me a paper cup that was filled with coffee. "Still take it with cream and two sugars?" I nodded and Gemma continued. "Your dad told me you moved out of his place and moved in here." She said it like it was news. I had been in the loft for a few weeks and she finally found time to make it over. She looked around, I knew she thought I could do better. That was the thing about Gemma, she wanted the best of the best for those she loved.

"I know it isn't much but it's mine. And I have my art right here." I pointed over to the corner where I had set up my own little art studio. It had everything I needed, my desk, easel and best if all, lots of natural light. "I have lived in much smaller with more people." I thought of student housing, my loft had so much more space than any place I stayed in at school.

Gemma smiled and sat down at the table. "It's perfect, sweetheart. I hear your overbearing mother is allowing Tiki to come and visit this weekend."

Well that was news to me. I was surprised my dad hadn't told me. If it was a surprise well Gemma had just ruined it. "Really? I haven't seen Tiks in nearly six years. We email and I send him gifts on the holidays and his birthday; it will be so nice to see him." I smiled at the thought of seeing my little brother.

"Still haven't gotten over that fight with your mom?" Gemma asked knowing damn well, I would never forgive my mom.

"Gemma, are you serious? You know I am too stubborn to forgive her. She was a royal bitch to me when I decided to move in with dad fulltime. I forgave her for that. She didn't want to lose her child support but she had no right to call me a little whore and then choosing her boyfriend over her own daughter. Sure, I may have dressed like one but I…" I paused remembering the day she confronted me; I had been visiting for a few weeks over the summer. She had a boyfriend who had got a little handsy with me. I told her and she said she would talk to him. He told her lies of course, something along the lines of how I came onto him. She chose the guy over me. I hadn't spoken to my mom since that day. "needed a mother who believed me and not her child molesting boyfriend." Sure, as shit my dad and the club took care of things. I was never privy to what happened but Daddy said I was safe and wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

"He would have been less a dick if you were my daughter." Gemma had steam blowing out her ears, figuratively.

I smiled, "See, I don't need a biological mother when I have you. You have been far more of a mom to me than Precious has." Gemma immediately took me under her wing when I moved to Charming. She had been the mother I had always wanted. When I was real young I would pray that my dad and Gemma ended up together because I wanted her to be my real mom. Those prayers went unanswered and as I got older I was grateful for that.

"That really means a lot to me, Nora." Gemma smiled genuinely. "So, the reason I am here." Ah, so there was a catch to her visit. "I was hoping you would be able to help out at Teller-Morrow tomorrow. I have to get Abel's room taken care of and you know the guys cannot deal when it comes to paper work."

I knew Gemma wouldn't take no for an answer. "Of course, I can for a day, but not any longer. I really need to start working on my design stuff. I have a friend back in New York who is going to use my clothing designs for her photo shoot in a few months, so I really need to buckle down now that I am no longer in school."

"You're a life saver, sweetheart. Now, that I have taken care of that I will let you get back to your blank canvas over there." Gemma stood and kissed my head. "Be there tomorrow at 9 am."

I shook my head. "Okay." I waved at her as she left me alone in silence.

That was the problem. Silence, I needed music. No wonder I was just staring at the whiteness of the canvas for so long. I turned on music and went to it. Music had always been a way for me to get my creative juices flowing. My last art studio was across the hall from one of the music study rooms. It was fabulous. I never had any issues creating.

I painted into the early hours of the morning, until I remembered my promise to help Gemma. "Ugh." I hated to leave this piece of art but I walked away after quickly cleaning up my supplies that had quickly become scattered around the area.

It was far too early to function normally without coffee, I thought to myself as I walked into the office at Teller Morrow. The desk was a mess. First task, clean off the desk, wait scratch that first task coffee, second task papers. I made my way to the coffee pot and found that they were out of coffee in the office. I took the empty coffee urn and made my way to the club house.

"Good morning sunshine." Jax beamed at me. He was sitting next to Opie at one of the tables. He was a fucking morning person. I hated morning people. Too fucking cheery.

"Coffee…" I muttered as I pointed towards the kitchen. I discarded the empty coffee urn and grabbed a full one. Thankfully, someone had made coffee in the clubhouse so I helped myself. I would take a cup full of the grog they made over being caffeineless.

"So, my mom roped you into working at the shop today huh?" Jax asked me as I reemerged from the kitchen.

I plopped down on the chair next to Jax and glared at him and his rosy demeanor. "Yup. It would have been fine had I not stayed up late working on a painting. I should have just stopped at a blank slate but I couldn't. Once I start working on a piece of art it's hard to stop." I took long drink of the shit they called coffee.

"I'm sure you could have crashed with Juice or the prospect." Jax teased.

"Fuck off, Jackson." I knew I was treading a fine line but his laughter told me a different story and his eyes glinted with mischief.

"I take it you're not a morning person then?" Op smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes, "I would never guess what gave you that idea."

"Technically, isn't it close to noon in New York? So, you really just slept in." Opie said very matter-of-factly.

I knew that he was messing with me. "Does it look like I am in New York?" Both Jax and Opie chuckled. "Please have a laugh on my behalf." It wasn't like it was the first time I had caused a good laugh.

Jax's phone rang, he looked at the number and got up as he answered it. Leaving Opie and me alone at the table. Opie gently grabbed my arm and turned it up and looked at it. As odd as it was, it didn't stop my heart from skipping a few beats.

"I think you have a bit of paint on your arm." He smirked. _Oh, hello smirk._

I looked at my arm. "Fuck." I muttered at the large smear of blue paint across the backside of my arm. I woke up late and didn't have a chance to shower. I quickly stood up and made my way to the bar and grabbed a wet rag and scrubbed the paint off my arm as I made my way back to my spot at the table.

"Did you roll around it in?" Opie asked holding his hand out for the rag.

I frowned and handed him the rag. "Har, har." Opie gently lifted my hair off my neck and wiped the paint from off it. My stomach was in knots and heart kicked it up a notch. His actions felt far too intimate to me.

"There you go, mermaid. All clean." He handed the originally white rag back to me which was now blue. Maybe, I was a mermaid after all, blue paint, teal hair. If it wasn't for my fear of drowning, I would totally be a mermaid.

"Thanks, Op." I didn't know what to say. I was terrified that he could hear my heart beating. Because that was all I could hear. Its loud, fast throbs.

Jackson returned to the table, "That was Clay. We're needed." He was straightforward with Opie. I was sure it was club business, which meant it was none of mine.

"I'll take that as my cue and head to the office. The desk in there is a fucking mess, by the way. You know that is why Gemma had me come and work…she didn't want to deal with the shit that you, assholes left all over the desk." I left to the laughs of Opie and Jackson and my mind completely confused about Opie's actions but more so my reaction to them.

I rubbed the back of my neck, grateful that I didn't have a regular desk job, as I stared down at the invoice in front of me. It was the last thing I had to take care of before I left Teller Morrow for the night. I was in the mood for a beer and a nap. Thankfully, it had been a relatively slow day. It took me some time to remember how to run things. I even had to ask the guys, who were in the shop several times how things worked or where something was. In my defense, I hadn't been behind that desk in years.

"Hey Nor?" Opie made me jump and more embarrassingly yelp. "Shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scared you."

He had no clue, I was easier to startle than I used to be. I was not used to not having to look over my shoulder all the time. "It's fine Opie. I was just focused on what I was doing. What's up?" I asked, as I shoved the invoice aside and devoted my attention to him.

Opie's hazel eyes studied me for a second, he looked like he was going to ask me something, but reigned it back in. "So, I was wondering what you were doing tonight."

His question took me by surprise, "Um, well I was going to walk myself over to the club house and have a beer and then head home to wash off this day in my tub. Why do you ask?" I realized I really didn't need to tell him all that.

"I was wondering if you would be able to hang with Ellie and Kenny tonight. My flake of a mom, called last minute and said she couldn't watch them. I hate to ask but I am kind of in a bind." Opie rubbed the back of his neck as he waited for my answer.

"Of course. What time do you need me?" I asked without hesitation. I had missed Ellie and Kenny and I was sure they needed some solidarity in their lives with Donna being gone. The SAMCRO lifestyle didn't lend much continuity or routine. I was sure those poor kids' lives were just in utter chaos.

"Are you sure?" Opie asked, as if he was giving me an opportunity to back out.

I nodded my head. "Op, if I didn't want to hang with them I would say no. Any time you need me I can help. My work can come with me." I patted my bag that contained some of my art stuff that I was using to design the clothing for the photo shoot.

A smile crossed his face. "You're a life saver Nora. I'd hate to have to leave them with a croweater. Can you be over by 6:30?"

That gave me time to go home and shower and then head over. "Yeah. It gives me some time to go home and shower." So much for my beer. I could always have one later when I got home. I stood and stretched my body out; it ached which was strange because I had done far less work than I was used to. I looked over at Opie just in time to see him checking out my chest. I didn't blame him, I had nice breasts. They were my one feature I got from my mom and didn't hate. "Alright. Do you need me to bring anything?"

"Nah." Opie shook his head. He held the door open for me as we exited the office.

I made it to Opie's house just before 6:30; my stomach was in knots, I didn't know if I was going to be able to hold it together. It would be my first time at the house without Donna. It hurt my heart, a lot! I was about to walk into the house, it was more out of habit to not knock but I stopped myself and knocked on the door. The sound of running feet made me smile and took me back to happier, more peaceful times. The door flew open and I was tackled by Kenny. He hit me so hard, it knocked the air out of me.

"NORA!" He yelled merrily. "Woah, you have blue hair. I want blue hair!"

Shit, I hoped Opie didn't hear that. I could only imagine how he would feel about his kid having blue hair. I am sure he would be none too thrilled.

"It's not blue, Kenny. It's teal." Ellie rolled her blue eyes at her brother as she hugged me. "Sheesh, do you even know your colors?"

I laughed at them as they escorted me into the house. "Hi guys! I've missed you." I hugged them both to me. They were both so much older and so much sadder looking. Kenny had grown at least a foot and was about as tall as Ellie was even though she was two years older than he was. They both crowded my being, it felt like if they could have crawled inside my skin they would have. I could tell they were desperate for love and for someone who they were comfortable with.

Opie had been gone for five years of their lives and they were just getting to know him again when their mom died. Donna never gave the kids a chance to get to know Op when he was in jail, she never brought them to visit him. While I was gone, I had video chats with them from time to time and we wrote emails and letters. I had tried to stay apart of their lives as much as I could. But when things started getting bad for me in New York, I shut my Charming life out.

Opie came around the corner from his room. "Hey guys. Give Nora some room to breathe." He gently tried to guide them away from me.

"It's fine. I've missed these faces." I squeezed Kenny's face between my hands. He laughed. "So, what's the plan tonight?" I asked Kenny. He went into everything he had planned of us. "Whoa, we should really save something to do the next time I come over."

"Can I steal Nora for a minute guys?" Opie smiled over at me as I stepped away from the kids. "I don't know how late I will be out but I will try to be back at a decent hour so you can go roll in paint again."

I rolled my eyes. Opie smelled good, his hair was still wet from what I assumed was a shower. "I do not roll in paint." I was close to stomping my foot on the floor but refrained. He snickered at my reaction. "Take your time tonight. Enjoy yourself, because I know I will be having a fabulous time with your kids tonight."

"Thank you so much Nora. You don't know how much I appreciate it." Opie touched my shoulder before making his way to his kids. I watched their awkward interaction. It hurt, because I knew Donna would not want her kids or her husband to suffer in such a way. He wanted them to be content in each other presence and it was not that way. "Bye Nora." Opie waved at me as he made his way out the front door.

* * *

I was startled awake by thumping around in the house. I shot up from where I was laying on the couch and turn on the light, only to see a very drunk Opie stumble his way into the kitchen. I stood up and made my way in the direction he went.

"Have a good time?" I smirked at him. He was standing and staring into the refrigerator.

"I had a great time." He turned and grinned. The grin, was one I knew all too well. He had gotten laid, it was the same one most of the guys in SAMCRO got when there was mention of pussy. "How were the kids?" His words were slow and I could tell he was trying to think about what he was saying.

"They were angels." I answered as he started to pull food out of the fridge and almost dropped a dish. "Op, why don't you let me help you." I took the dish out of his hands. "Please don't tell me they let you drive yourself home in this condition."

He narrowed eyes, as if to say who was I to ask that question but then shook his head. "No. Prospect drove me home."

I handed him the plate with food that I had dished up. "Good. I know it's not really my business, but if I didn't ask, I would be a horrible friend." I only had his best intentions in my mind when I asked. The kids would be devastated if he were to die as well. I didn't even want to imagine it; the thought just broke my heart.

I left Opie to eat his food in silence. I made my way back out to the living room and gathered up my stuff. The kids and I had done some art projects and I couldn't wait to hang up their pictures in my apartment. A loud crash in the kitchen startled me. I ran quickly to find Opie had dropped his plate when passed out against the counter.

"Op?" I touched him gently. He looked down at me with a glazed over look. "Op, let me help you to bed."

Opie placed arm over my shoulder. I prayed he didn't fall because there was no way in hell, I was going to be able to catch his towering stature. As we slowly continued to may our way down the hallway, I felt his hand move to my breast and cup it gently. There was nothing aggressive about his action and he was so drunk I didn't know even know if he knew what he was doing.

"You have nice tits, Nora." He muttered as he gave it a squeeze. I felt that one motion all the way to my nether regions. God damn, this man could have easily gotten in to my pants if he just asked. At that moment, I would have given anything to see Opie naked. I swallowed hard, trying to push my lust away. It had been far too long since I had gotten laid.

"Thanks, Opie." I tried to act as if it wasn't a big deal and I wasn't a raging ball of hormones. How was it that I felt like I needed a cold shower after just one drunken breast squeeze from Opie but when I was with my ex, he could have done that or even showed up to my place naked and I would have not even cared. "Well here we are." I stated as I lead Opie over to his bed…mmm his bed. The bed he had shared with Donna. There take that and shove it sex drive!

He sat down on the edge of the bed and struggled to get his kutt off. I leaned over and helped remove it. I couldn't help but notice he was staring at my cleavage the whole time. It took all that I had in me to not straddle him. I kept repeating _This is Donna's widower…Donna, Donna, Donna,_ to myself as I helped Opie lay down in the bed and pulled off his boots.

"Night, Op." I pulled the blankets up over his body.

"Mmm, night Nor." He turned to his side and I swear he was snoring before I even made it out of the room.

I went back to the kitchen, where food and broken plate laid littered across the floor. What a mess. I made quick work of it and cleaned up the kitchen. There was no way I could leave the kids alone with Opie. If something were to happen to them while he was drunk, I would have never been able to forgive myself. At that point Donna would have every right to come back and haunt me.

* * *

"What smells so good?" Opie's voice called from the hallway. I had cooked breakfast for the kids as they got ready for school. "Nora?!" He seemed surprised to see me there.

"Yup. How you feelin'?" I glanced over my shoulder at him. I was standing across the counter from the kids whose laughter stopped as soon as Opie made an appearance. No, doubt their relationship was strained and stressful for everyone involved.

"I feel better than I probably deserve." He rubbed his bearded face. "You know you didn't need to stick around." Opie looked guilty.

I smiled at the kids, who looked at both of us like they were ready for a fight. "Hey guys, why don't you go get your stuff for school. I'll drive you to school." I offered to them. They both smiled broadly and hopped down from the bar and ran to the back of the house. I heard them fighting about who got shot gun. I, then turned my attention to Opie. "Op, its fine. I don't mind at all, I adore Kenny and Ellie."

"Thank, Nora. You don't know how much I appreciate it. I know that they are in good hands when they are with you. How much do I owe you for last night and this morning?" Opie asked.

"Absolutely nothing." I stated. I couldn't charge him, not after everything he had been through. I was such a bleeding heart!

"Are you sure?" Op questioned me. I just nodded. He frowned at me. "Did I say or do anything inappropriate to you last night?"

 _Nothing, that didn't set my loins on fire._ I thought to myself. "Nope. You were a perfect gentleman." I lied through my teeth.

"Huh." He said more to himself than to me.

"Why Op?" I questioned as I made my way to the kitchen table where my bag was.

"Oh, it's nothing. I thought I remembered grabbing your…" He stopped as the kids ran into the room.

"We're ready, Nora." Kenny smiled at me. Ugh that kid was going to be a lady killer when he got older.

"Nor, do you think that you could keep an eye on the kids tomorrow too?" Opie asked as I was about to leave, with the kids. Damn it. He now knew I couldn't say no to his kids. "Mary can take them if you aren't able to."

"Of course, but is it cool if I bring Tiki with? I haven't seen him in forever, so I would like to spend some time with him." I watched Ellie's eyes light up at the mention of my brother and her face flushed ever so slightly. "Alright, why don't you two, go get in my car and I will be right out." I handed the keys to Ellie, who ran out saying she was going to drive my car today.

"Yeah, Tiki can come over. He used to come over all the time when he was visiting your old man. The kids get along really well." Opie nodded.

I bit my lower lip, "Cool. You do realize that Ellie likes Tiks, right?"

Opie frowned. "What? No." He just shook his head. "How do you know that?"

"I noticed the starry-eyed look she got when I mentioned Tiki. I am a girl, I know that look all too well." And I was starting to know it all too well again. _Reign it in Nora!_ I drew a deep breath. "You have a lot to learn about having a daughter Opie." I smirked as I started out to my car again. As I got to the door Opie called after me. Shit, could I not get his kids to school?

"Can you swing by and bring me to the club after you bring the kids to school?" He asked me.

"Yeah, no problem. I will let you buy me a fancy coffee on the way to the mothership." I smirked as I used his line against him.

"How sweet of you, mermaid." He offered up.

Touché Opie. Touché!

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the support. I hope you are enjoying the story thus far. Sparks might be flying between Opie and Nora. Enjoy! Shout out to Ang R for your continued support with this story, your ideas are not falling on deaf ears! :)**_


	4. Two Truths and a Lie

Chapter 4

* * *

I was far too antsy and anxious to work on anything at home, so I decided to head over to the clubhouse. I couldn't sit still, I hadn't seen my brother in the flesh for far too long. My mom hadn't really allowed me to see Tiki after everything had happened with her boyfriend. She was just as stubborn as I was, and she wasn't going to forgive me for what happened. I was sure we would never see eye to eye, EVER! Either way, it had just been too long, and I was too amped up to do anything that needed focus.

The parking lot was pretty cleared out when I pulled in, there were a few bikes and cars. When I had dropped Opie off at the club earlier that day, I had heard my dad say something about a meeting. He had planned on going to pick up Tiki after. So, I was surprised to walk into the club house and saw Juice belly up to the bar with his computer in front of him. I saddled up on the chair next to him.

He stopped what he was doing and smiled lazily at me. "Thank god, you are here." He had a look of sincere relief in his eyes. "If I had to stare at that computer screen for another minute, I think my brain might have exploded." That was a lot coming from a guy, who could spend hours staring a screen playing video games.

I wrinkled my nose as I visualized Juice's head exploding. "Well I am glad that I could help that from not happening. Imagine the mess that I just saved Sack from having to clean up." I smirked over at Half Sack, who was cleaning up behind the bar.

Juice laughed. "Waiting for Bobby?" He asked, when he clearly knew the answer.

I nodded in response. "I couldn't sit around my place anymore. I am far too excited to see my little brother. I couldn't focus on anything. I figured I would come here and get a drink and keep Half Sack company. Say, why are you here anyway?" I asked even though I knew I shouldn't have. But oh, how I loved livin' on the edge.

Juice's brown eyes searched my face before responding. "Intel shit." Was his response.

Before I could formulate a smart-ass reply, my phone alerted me that I had a text message. I pulled it out of my bag, it was a message from Rose.

 _Check your email. :(_

Fuck, I thought. I was not at home where I could readily check my email; it was unlike Rose to send me a cryptic text. I knew nothing good was going to come from this email.

I took a deep breath. "Can I use your computer for a minute?" I asked Juice.

"Sure." He gave me a confused look before handing his lap top to me. He must have trusted me a lot to just hand over his computer. Or he knew I didn't know shit when it came to computers. Most of the time I was luck if I could figure out how to change the background of the home screen. "Is everything okay?"

I smiled and nodded at him as I grabbed his laptop and went to one of the tables. I didn't need anyone knowing my business. I was grateful that Juice seemed to know that I wanted my privacy and started chatting with Sack. It seemed like a lifetime before I could get my email to open. My heart was beating extremely hard in my chest and my hands began to sweat when I saw the first email on my list. It was from Sarah and it had an attachment.

I tried to calm myself by taking a deep breath and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. I made sure that Juice's sound was turned down before opening the video that she had attached to the email. It was the same video that she had sent me before, but this was the first time she had copied Rose to the email. I quickly closed the video and gazed up at the note that was included in the email.

 _It would be a shame if Rose's parents saw this.  
-Sarah_

She had included Rose's parent email addresses or what I assumed were her parents email addresses in the email. All she would have had to do is copy them to the email.

I could feel my face flush. I quickly closed out of my email and closed Juice's computer. I needed fresh air, the walls of the clubhouse were closing in on me. I didn't how I could do to protect my best friend from potentially being disowned by her parents. I heard Juice call my name, but I disregarded him as I rushed outside. I let the dry air fill my lungs when I stepped outside. I was on the verge of tears; I tried to swallow them down as I sat down at one of tables. I put my head down and tried to wish away this shit situation that I had put Rose and myself in.

"Nora, you want to tell me what that video is about?" Juice asked as I felt him sit down next to me at the picnic table. "Seriously Nor, that is some hot shit but come on, what is going on?" Of, course he had found a way to look at the video. I knew, that he hadn't gotten to the raunchier part of the video because he had come out shortly after I had.

I didn't want my family to get involved. I had just hoped that moving back home would have cured it. And for a while it seemed to have helped but obviously it had not stopped Sarah. I slowly lifted my head and was met by Juice's concerned face. I looked away from him, I couldn't let him see my fear and shame.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" He turned my face, so I was looking at him. "Nora, if you are in some sort of trouble, you know the club is here."

I shook my head, "I don't want to talk about it Juice. I want this whole fucked up situation to just disappear." I frowned and tried to get up, but Juice pulled me back down.

He no longer had his happy go lucky look on his face. A seriousness that I had never seen before was set in his eyes. "Nora, tell me what the fuck happened in New York. I mean, what I saw of the video…I mean if you are into women, you know we are all cool with that shit."

I held up my hand to stop him. I didn't need to know what he thought about the video. "Promise me you will delete that video forever and I will tell you." Maybe Juice could help me; he had an amazing computer prowess.

I waited for Juice to nod in agreement. "I don't even know where to begin…" I couldn't exactly pin point when everything began with Sarah, was it when I met Rose? Was it when I started dating guys we went to school with? Or was it sooner than that? I took a deep breath before continuing. "The girl who took that video did it without our knowledge or permission. College is a place for experimentation, isn't it?" I asked but didn't wait for his answer before going on. "Rose and I are best friends, we have been since I decided that I like men better than women. That video cannot get back to Rose's parents Juice. Please, they don't know that she would rather be in a relationship with women verse men. They wouldn't understand." I felt like I was begging Juice. "They would disown her."

He studied me for a moment. Actually, I felt like he was staring into my soul. "So, you want me to make the video disappear is that what you are saying? I am sure I can do that but Nora that doesn't explain anything. So, what you fucked around with another hot girl and the hot girl's parents are fucking assholes. I saw your face go pale. Tell me what the fuck happened, or I am talking to your old man." Juice threatened me.

"Sarah is what the fuck happened!" I snapped. "She was my first roommate in college. She was great at first, or so I thought. It was nice to have someone who didn't just want to be my friend, because I had all the hot bikers around me. But, as time went on, she got needy and possessive of me. She would get angry with me when I went out without her or if I made new friends. Shit, she changed her god damn major, so she could have some of the same classes as me. Juice, shit just go weird. I moved in with Rose and her friends our second year. I had hoped that her infatuation would just dissipate, but it almost seemed like it worse as the time went on. One day in class I sat down and noticed she was wearing one of my shirts. I would have just passed it off as a fluke, but it was a fucking SOA shirt that I had. When I got home I searched everywhere for it, it was gone. I thought that coming home and getting away from her craziness would help but it hasn't really. Now she is just threatening my best friend." I could feel tears of frustration building. I hadn't told Juice everything, but it was enough to get him off my back and not bring up my drama to my dad.

Juice sat quietly for a few moments. His brown eyes looked at me with concern and something that edged on sympathy. I didn't need his sympathy, what I needed was his computer prowess. I needed to know I could trust him. "Alright, Nora. I will see what I can do about that video. Even though it really isn't anything to be ashamed of, but I get it, it was a huge invasion of privacy and not something you wanted filmed. I really think you should talk to your dad about this. The club could help out but I will respect your request and keep your secret." Juice said, just as my dad and the rest of the club came rolling in.

I was grateful for the reprieve even if it was only a brief one. Relief washed over me as I thought about seeing Tiki. It wouldn't be long before I would push my problems into the back of my head where they hung there like a dark unwanted shadow. I got up and started to make my way towards the van which I knew held my little brother.

"Nor?" Juice's voice called to me. I turned to look at him. "Don't make me regret this." He had a bit of apprehension in his voice.

I shook my head and continued my previous course to the van. Tiki was getting out next to my dad. He was nearly as tall as our dad. His hair was a sandy blonde color and he had cut off all his curls to a short buzz cut. Poor, kid had gotten cursed by our dad's curly locks. Thankfully, he had the sense to cut them off, unlike our dad.

"Nora!" Tiki exclaimed when he saw me, ignoring what our dad was saying to him. His voice had grown slightly deeper since the last time I spoke to him; it surprised me. He had a huge smile on his thin face.

I embraced my brother as soon as I got to him. I was so happy to finally have him in my arms again. "God, I've missed you!" I exclaimed, not wanting to let go, but also not wanting to seem like I was crazy. I held Tiki out at arm's length and took him in. His eyes mimicked my own. We had our dad's expressive brown eyes. Another inch and he would be taller than me. He was gangly. I had missed so much of his life. Shoot, I had missed too much of everything in Charming.

"I've missed you too, Sis." He smirked. Shoot, no wonder Ellie had a thing for him. "Dad told me I get to hang with you tonight."

"Heading to Opie's to spend time with Ellie and Kenny, if you're cool with that. Otherwise, we could always hang out another night just you and me." I smiled. I couldn't wait to get to know my little brother again. There was only so much I could learn about him from emails and letters.

He shook his head in agreement. "Yeah, Kenny and I have a great time gaming when I am here." He looked over my shoulder. "Hey, Juice." Tiki did a quick nod in his direction.

Juice. His name reminded me of Sarah now. He held my past in his hands and as good as it felt to let it out. I hoped _I_ didn't regret telling him.

"Hey Tiks. Bring any good games with you?" Juice spoke with my little brother like they were old friends.

"Oh yeah!" Tiki beamed at Juice as they started talking about games.

I would have been lying if I said, I listened to them talk about video games. I zoned right out, games were not really my thing. Now, if we were talking art, I could have talked their ears off.

I watched Opie stride purposely towards his dad, who had just parked his trike. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed him. _Fucking heart, stop betraying me_ , I thought. What the heck was my issue? Opie was off limits. He glanced in our direction and caught me staring; he smiled at me. I quickly turned and acted like I was listening intensely to Juice and Tiki. But I was really just hiding my face, which I could tell was flushed with embarrassment. Juice raised an all-knowing eyebrow at me, then turned back to my brother. _Shit!_ Now he had another thing to hold over my head if he wanted to.

Why I was crushing so hard on Opie? Sure, he was hotter than I remembered and he was available but not really. I really had to start picturing Donna every time my libido went into overdrive over Op. Nothing could happen, I told myself.

* * *

"Tiki, please calm down and try to breath!" I tried to easy my little brother fears, he was having an asthma attack. His breaths were raspy, and he coughed hard as he tried to catch his breath. "Please, you need to calm down!" Tears were forming in my eyes as I held my phone up to my ear. I had called 911. There was no way I would have been able to get him to the hospital in time. He needed oxygen support, as soon as possible. Thankfully the ambulance was on its way, but the operator wanted to keep me on the line in case of further emergency. Like they could help through the fucking phone, it just made me more upset.

Tiki panicked more when he noticed the tears falling from my eyes. He struggled to breath even more; his lips were beginning to turn a slight shade of blue. I held my brother's hand as he coughed harder. I didn't think anything of letting him and Kenny play catch outside until he came in struggling to breath. He could barely get out that he had left his inhaler at dad's house. _Stupid, fucking kid; he knew better!_

"Tiki, please calm down and try to breath slowly." Short, rapid breaths were his response.

Thankfully, I could hear the sound of sirens in the distance. "Kenny, Ellie, go get in my car." I ordered them. They had been hovering near us since Tiki came in ten minutes before. Ellie frowned, I could tell she wanted to be near Tiki. I couldn't blame her. I gave her a pleading look and she finally turned to join Kenny in the car.

There was no way I wasn't going to head to the hospital with Tiki. "The ambulance is here." I stated to the emergency operator.

"Alright. I am sure your brother will do well thanks to your quick actions Miss Munson." The woman on the other line said. Her voice was warm and reassuring but it did nothing for my frayed nerves. I just needed my brother to be okay.

The paramedics came and began to work on him. A tall black, haired paramedic pulled me away from Tiki. I couldn't help but glare at him, I just wanted to be by his side. Tall, dark and muscly placed his hand gently on my shoulder, "Miss Munson, we will be bringing your brother to St. Thomas, if you would like to meet us there."

I nodded and watched the paramedics rush my brother out of the house. I quickly gathered my stuff and tried to call my dad, it went right to voicemail. I left a message for him and called Gemma, who said she would meet me at the hospital.

When we got to the hospital there was nothing to do but sit and wait. One of the nurses said that my brother was stable but he would likely have to stay the night. He could have visitors once he had more of his rescue protocols. Gemma had arrived and took the kids to the cafeteria for some ice cream. I was so grateful for her, it gave me some time to get my emotions in check. No need to freak the kids out any more, than they already were.

I pulled out my cell to see if my dad called; he hadn't. It was then I realized that if Opie were to come home, he would have no clue where we were. I hit his number on my cell; it rang twice before he picked up.

"Hey Nora. Is everything okay?" Op questioned.

Tears welled up in my eyes again. "No. I mean…Ellie and Kenny are okay, but Tiki had an asthma attack. I wanted to let you know we are at St. Thomas." I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Shit. Okay. We are just about ready to head back from Oakland. I'll head up there when we get in. Does your dad know?" Opie's voice oozed with concern.

I sniffled a bit before answering him. "No. I tried to get ahold of him but his burner went right to voicemail. If you're with him I would appreciate you telling him."

"Yeah. I'll let him know. We'll be there soon Nora." Opie stated.

"Thanks Opie." I murmured before hanging up.

Gemma and the kids finally came back up to the waiting room. The kids were happy enough to have ice cream and a TV to watch, after I reassured them that Tiki was okay and we would be able to see him shortly. Gemma sat down next to me and gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

"How you doing sweetheart?" She asked even though she knew the answer.

I took a deep breath as I realized the depth of situation. "I feel like shit. Tiki could have died." I replied in a hushed tone. I didn't want Ellie or Kenny to hear what I was saying. They didn't need to deal with the fact that could have lost yet another person in their lives. They didn't need that stress.

"Nora, you did a good job holding everything together today and Tiki didn't die because of that. You know as well I do that he knows better than to leave his inhaler behind. You saved your brother's life today, sweetheart." Gemma put a spin on what happened in only the way she could.

We had been there nearly an hour when my mom stormed into the waiting room. She looked older, which would make sense. Her bleach blonde hair was pulled back in a pony tail. Her black lined, ice blue eyes searched the room before stomping over to Gemma and me.

"I should have known you were involved." My mom snapped as she glared at me. I see our issues with each other were not just water under the bridge after all the time that had passed. I wasn't in the mood to deal with her shit. I shifted in frustration.

"It's nice to see you too, Precious." Gemma stood up, placing herself between us as a buffer. _Thank god._ My mom knew better than to mess with the Queen of SAMCRO.

"Gemma." My mom's tone was calmer. "Thank you for coming up here. Do you know where my deadbeat ex is?"

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from saying what I wanted to. She had no right to call my dad a deadbeat, especially when he was far from one. "He is on his way. Tiki is stable, they should be finishing up with is rescue protocols shortly." I tried not to be snarky but it was hard to be nice when she came in with guns blazing.

"Tiki better be okay or you will have a lot to answer for young lady." Her words bit at me as she quickly turned and made her way out of the waiting room.

How could she still make me feel so small and worthless after all this time? She made me feel so guilty. I stood up quickly and followed her out of the room.

"Mom?" I called after her. She stopped in her tracks and turned; I was sure that she didn't expect me to go after her or call her mom for that matter.

"What do you want Nora?" Her voice oozed with annoyance. I knew I was the thorn in her side when it came to her children. Tiki was her pride and joy.

"I'm sorry that this happened. Tiki didn't bring his inhaler with us." The infuriated look on her face made me bite back, "Although, one would think at his age he would remember such an important item or that someone would have taught him better." I said with a quiet venom.

I could tell I had just pushed the right button to make her snap. Her eyes narrowed and her face turned red. She pushed me up against the wall and hissed through her teeth, "Listen hear young lady, if I have anything to say about it you will never see Tiki again. He could have died today, because you allowed him to leave without his inhaler." She was going to turn to walk away but quickly turned back. "I can see that your time away hasn't changed you one bit." My mom returned back on her previous path to Tiki's room.

I tried to fight back the tears, because she didn't deserve them, but they still spilled from my eyes like a flood. I slid down the wall and buried my face in my knees. My mother had a great way of making me feel horrible about myself. No wonder I had confidence issues even after the time.

A hand gently touched my shoulder, "Nora, are you okay?" I looked up to find Opie kneeling next to me.

"How much of that did you see?" I asked as we stood up together. I knew that he probably caught at least some of my confrontation with my mom.

"I saw enough." His thumbs brushed a few stray tears from my cheeks. "Don't listen to her Nora. I trust you with my kids more, than their grandparents." Opie embraced me. "And you have changed." He said quietly.

Being in his arms felt so right.

* * *

A/N: Happy New Years! Thank you all for your likes and comments. I really appreciate them. I am sorry that this chapter took a while to get out. Life has been chaos. It's hard to find time to write. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! xoxo


	5. Elvis Lives

It had been two months since Tiki's hospitalization and my mom had still not allowed my dad to see him. After everything went down I tried to lay low for a few days while my dad had tried to straighten things out with my mom, but she wasn't having any of it. She blamed me for what happened and not her teenage son, who should have known better. I didn't blame Tiki for what happened, how could I? I was just a horrible mistake made on both parts. It sucked all around. I was hoping Tiki would eventually convince our mom that he should be allowed to see our dad and me, but until then I was left without my little brother again. Precious was a selfish bitch. I knew at that point I would never be able to salvage a relationship with her and that Gemma would the only motherly figure I would have.

The first few weeks after everything went down, I kept to myself. I worked on some art, because nothing healed my soul more than art. However, as time went on, I knew I needed contact with people or I would go crazy. I went to SAMCRO's club or helped Gemma with Teller-Morrow almost daily, but that was pretty much my life along with my art.

"Hey Nora." Juice sat down at the table with me. "What cha workin' on?" He turned my sketch pad towards him. "Clothes?" He gave me a confused look.

I nodded as my cheeks flushed, "yeah. My friend is doing some sort of photo shoot or music video thing and she asked me to design the clothes for it. I have to have these to her by the end of next week." I pulled my sketch pad back to me and continued sketching.

"Huh. I didn't realize you were a clothing designer." Juice smirked. "Those are really good, by the way." His complement meant a lot to me.

"Thanks. I think I am having a hard time designing them, because I am on a time line and specifications for the clothes. I would rather just design what I want to and not because I have to. And yes, I changed my major to design, because I have always loved fashion and it would pay the bills if my art didn't sell." I felt self-conscious. My family hadn't seen my clothing designs and I didn't know how I felt about them seeing them.

"Well I think you made the right decision." Juice smiled. "Oh, hey, I got rid of that video finally. There is no trace of it anywhere on the internet or Sarah's computer. You realize what a pain the ass it was correct?" Juice had been tracking Sarah's emails and computer daily. He kept watched for the video several times a day since he had learned about it. He was such an amazing friend and ally. I couldn't have asked for any one better to have on my side. I was so blessed to have his computer prowess on my side.

I squealed with delight and jumped across the table at Juice and embraced him. "You don't know how happy you just made me. I owe you big time Juice." I smiled broadly.

"Woah, get a room." Jax said from behind me.

I quickly pulled away from Juice and turned around with a glare but was met by not only Jax, but Opie's face as well. I could only guess what my embrace with Juice looked like to an on looker. I knew that the guys were worse then women when it came to gossip, and they thought Juice and I have been hooking up since my first night back in town. So, that moment likely just solidified it for them.

"Whatever, Jackson." Was the only reply I could come up without bringing up anything about Sarah. I had hidden it for months, so there was no way I was going to break then. "Hey Ope." I gave him a quick smile.

I hadn't seen him much over the past week, the kids went to visit Donna's sister and her family for a few weeks. It was good for them to get out of Charming for a while. To get out of the place that reminded them so much of their mom and their loss. The kids and I were looking at pictures one day when I was hanging out with them and they had both asked me to paint pictures of Donna for them. I had them pick out their favorite picture of her and had set to work on them. I let them know I would have them ready for them when they got home. Something for them to look forward to.

"Nora." Opie replied, he barely looked at me, before heading to the bar where Half Sack was already pouring him and Jax beers.

"Nor, you going to your dad's show tonight?" Juice asked as a stared after Opie. No need in hiding what or who I wanted from Juice since he already knew.

My dad had an Elvis impersonation show that he had actually invited the club to in Lodi. I was looking forward to seeing my dad sing again, it had been ages. "Of course, I am. Do you really think that I would miss his show?"

"Didn't know if you were into Elvis and shit." Juice seemed shocked. He obviously didn't know that my dad had promoted the love of Elvis in our household, to a point of embarrassment.

"You do realize you are talking to an Elvis junkie's daughter. I am pretty sure that I came out of the womb to my dad singing an Elvis song." I shook my head, because it wasn't far from the truth. "Jax, is Tara coming tonight?" I asked.

Since my return to Charming and my not so welcoming first night home; Tara and I had become pretty close. We had gone out for coffee a few times and had hung out at a few of the club parties. I really liked her. She was as funny, as she was smart and beautiful. I could see what Jax saw in her.

"Yeah, she's going. I am going to swing by her place and pick her up before the show. How you are getting there?" Jax asked.

"I was going to drive. My dad has to get there early and like hell I am going to ride with him dressed as Elvis." I flushed with embarrassment remembering when he had taken me to school dressed in his white Elvis getup. I never quite lived that one down. Seemed to be a theme in my life…not living things down.

Juice pipped in. "I can bring you. I'll swing past your loft on my way to Lodi."

"Sure. I'll be ready by 6. I should head home soon. I have some things I need to get done before I go out tonight." I said glancing up at Opie, who was talking to Jax, but seemed to be listening to my conversation with Juice. "Thank you for everything Juice. I mean it." I said in a hushed tone, as I started gathering up my stuff.

Juice shrugged, "No problem. You do realize that she is a pain in the ass because the video just kept popping up." His voice was quiet.

"Well you have two very happy women, who owe you big time." I grinned thinking about happy Rose would be, now that, that video was off of the internet and our radar.

A sly look crossed Juice's face. "Maybe you could reenact it for me some time. I know plenty of croweaters, who would help out." It lead me to believe that he had watched more than he lead on. Thankfully, he didn't say if he did.

"In your dreams Ortiz." I knew he was joking or at least I hoped he was. That stage in my life was over. "Bye guys, I will see you later tonight." I waved at them on my way out.

* * *

I got off of the back of Juice's bike and pulled off my helmet. I prayed that my hair was not destroyed by wearing the helmet. I hadn't spent an hour getting ready just to have my hair ruined. It was a rare occurrence that I actually did anything to my hair other than throw it up in a messy bun. I had decided to curl it; I had not been _graced_ with my dad's naturally curly hair but more of my mom's flat stick straight hair.

"Thanks for the ride Juice." I smiled as I made my way into the club. He stayed out with Jax and Chibs, who were finishing up their cigarettes.

The place was packed but my dad had a table reserved for us right next to the stage. I pulled off my leather jacket and set it on the back of the chair next to Tara. She was wearing a low cut tightly fitting black tank top and jeans.

"Dang, girl." She smiled up at me. I might have been a bit over dressed for the club, but it had been ages since I had been out. I was wearing a low cut billowy gray tank top, a pair of dark wash skinny ankle jeans and heels. "What's your tattoo of?" She asked.

I looked down at my cleavage where my tattoo peaked out between my breasts. "Water color branch with leaves. My friend designed it." I sat down and showed her part of my tattoo. Most of it was hidden, around and under my left breast.

"You giving my old lady a free show Nor?" Jax chuckled; he sat down on the other side of Tara.

I straightened up. "The first one is always free Jackson." I rolled my eyes. "I was actually showing her my tattoo." I shrugged, as a beer was sat in front of me. I looked up to see Opie had set it down in front of me. He sat next to me. "Hey, thanks Ope." I smiled over at him.

"No problem, Nor." He smiled at me. "I am surprised you got here in one piece with they way Juice rides." Opie snickered at Juice, who had just joined our table.

I nodded and laughed. "Oh, you don't even know how scared for my life I was." I teased.

Juice snorted as he took a drink out of his glass. "Har har, keep it up fuckers. How you going to get home tonight Nora?"

Truthfully, Juice was probably one of the safest drivers I had ever met. He was probably overly cautious when he had someone riding with him. I had absolutely no fear for my life. I knew I was in very capable hands, actually I was with any of the guys in the club.

"Oh, I will figure something out. I mean if I have to ride home with fat Elvis, I will." I really hoped I wouldn't have to, but it was a means to get home. Don't get me wrong I loved my dad, but I had serious issues riding with him while he was dressed as Elvis in his SAMCRO kutt.

"I got your back, Nora." Opie said as the lights dimmed.

I leaned close to him, god he smelled good. "Thanks for having my back Opie." I whispered, wishing that he had more than just my back. _Fuck reign, it in girl._ Sure, we had done some harmless flirting while we were around the club house or after I had stayed with the kids, but that was it. Nothing had ever come of any of it. It didn't mean that I didn't ache for Opie to touch me. And by ache, I mean I had to occasionally take cold showers.

"Anytime." His eyes traveled from my lips to my eyes. There was a flash of something in his eyes, before he turned with a smirk towards the stage.

I moved back to my original position and watched my dad take the stage. I hadn't seen him dressed in his white Elvis costume with his wig, in what felt like a life time. A life time of stuff had definitely happened in that time. I let out an excited hoot and clapped enthusiastically.

"Thank you, thank you very much." He said in with his Elvis voice before picking up his guitar and strumming it quickly before starting his first song. _Heartbreak Hotel_. One of my favorites. He followed up with another one of my favorites, _Love Me Tender._ When he got to his third song he stopped. "Alright, y'all tonight is a very special night for this Elvis. My sweet daughter is here watching her old man. I used to sing her this song to get her to go to sleep at night. This is for you baby girl."

I knew what song he was talking about instantly. _All Shook Up_. He sang to me the whole time. Well where he knew I was sitting. It was totally our song, I remember him singing it to me so many times while I was growing up. I learned how to make the popping noise for the song and it was hard as an adult to refrain from doing it. It didn't stop me from tapping my foot and bobbing my head while sitting there. When the song ended I stood up and cheered for my dad.

"Thank you. So, I would like to invite my daughter up on the stage. I am sure none of you know that she is a pretty decent singer. The girl can sing some Elvis for you." My dad said boldly. "Come on up here Nora."

 _Oh Fuck NO!_ I thought as I sat back down and slouched in my seat trying to make myself as small as possible.

"Go on Nora!" Jax snickered, knowing that I hated to sing in public.

"No, thank you." I shook my head fiercely. I was not okay with singing. It was definitely not my cup of tea. I only did it in the shower or in the car by MYSELF! Not in front of people.

"NORA! NORA! NORA!" Juice started a chant which of course the whole table chimed in, which lead to the whole club starting in.

Opie looked over at me and shoved his drink in front of me. "A little liquid courage. Bottoms up."

I polished off my drink, then stood and poured what Ope had left of his beer in my mouth. As I passed Juice I leaned close and muttered. "Revenge is a bitch Ortiz."

I could hear him laughing hard at my threat, as I made my way up to the stage. Cheers came from the SAMCRO section. "Daddy." I glared at him as he handed me the microphone.

"Stage is all yours baby girl." He smiled at me. Ugh! How could I be mad at him. He turned his back to me said something to the band. "Fever?" He asked.

I nodded. "This song isn't an Elvis original, it was actually made famous by Peggie Sue and Little Willie John. But I have to say I like Elvis' version the best."

The bass started in and the guitarist and my dad both started snapping their fingers. I took a deep breath before singing. "Never know how much I loved you. Never know how much I care. When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so hard to bear. You give me fever when you kiss me. Fever when you hold me tight. Fever in the morning. Fever all through the night…." I sang but couldn't help but think about Opie when I sang the song. He certainly gave me a fever.

Before I knew it, I was done singing the song and the crowd was hooting and hollering loudly. My dad gave me a hug and kissed my head after I did a quick bow. I handed the show back over to him as I made my way back to the table where there was a fresh beer waiting for me. THANK GOD! I needed it. Although, singing in front of the crowd was exhilarating. I also felt completely nude in front of them, kind of like I was bearing my soul to them. A soul that I didn't want them to see.

"So, which one of you, assholes left during my song to get me this?" I held up my glass as I gave them all the stink eye.

"We sent the prospect." Opie said. "You know we wouldn't miss your debut. But figured you might want something to drink when you got back." _How thoughtful of Opie._

Throughout the rest of my dad's show when ever my beer was getting empty it was replaced. I was too busy watching my dad or talking with Tara to notice who had been replacing them. But I always had a glass that had something in it. I hadn't realized how much I had to drink until I stood up and the room did a bit of a tilt. I grabbed onto the chair to steadied myself.

"How about we go together." Tara smiled at me as she took my arm into hers.

"How much have I had to drink?" I whispered to her.

"I have no idea, but the prospect has kept your glass full all night. Seems like someone wants to get you drunk." Tara shrugged. "He's kept mine full too." She let out a giggle.

It was nice to see Tara loosen up, she had so much on her plate with her job and taking on care for Abel. She always seemed like she was edge but not anymore.

"I wonder who put him up to it?" I shrugged as we finished up in the bathroom and made our way back to the table. "Well we both know Jax is the one who told Sack to keep your cup full."

Tara hiccupped, "yup. Good thing Gemma has Abel tonight." She gave me a sly smile. Once that would have made me jealous of her, but I was coming to terms with the whole never getting to be with Jax. Plus, there was a much taller drink of water I was interested in; my eyes drifted to Opie. "Maybe it was Juice." Tara teased.

I stopped dead in my tracks. "No. Why do you guys think that Juice and I have something going on? We are just friends. He's the older brother, I've never had." I almost told her that he was helping me out with an issue, but realized that would open the door to have to talk about Sarah. The longer I kept her secret the better.

Tara put her arm around me. "Oh, Nor. I was only joking." She hugged me close to her.

"Mmmhhmm." I shook my head. "Can we just drop it. There is nothing going on between us. Nor will there ever be." If Tara thought that Juice and I were an item; what did the rest of the club think? Okay, more like what did Opie think? I tried to push it out of my head and made a note to distance myself from Juice.

My dad was standing at the table when Tara and I got back. "You did great baby girl." He pulled me in and kissed my head.

I glared at him, "A heads up would've been good or a way out. I mean with these assholes there was absolutely no way of getting out." I shoved my dad lightly.

"Voice of an angel." My dad took a drink of what ever was in his glass. It smelled like whiskey.

"Hmmm. I'll give you a voice of an angel." I smirked and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Okay, who has been feeding this one drinks?" My dad asked as every one of his brothers there pointed at the prospect.

Half Sack frowned at his brothers pointing and naturally throwing him under the bus. He kept his mouth shut though, not ratting out the person who had asked him to keep my glass full. He would eventually make a good full fledge member.

"Dude, you will be cleaning up her vomit." Jax joked pointing at Half Sack. He probably cleaned up far worse. I had seen what the club house looked like after a full on SAMCRO party.

I glared at Jax, "Your jokes are getting a little old, you really need some new ones Jackson." I knew I would never live down the fact that barfed on him, but for some reason it felt weird talking about it around Tara. I knew that she wasn't in the picture when it happened, but it made me uncomfortable.

Jax didn't have a response, he just laughed at me. He turned to Tara, who was rubbing herself against him to the beat of the background music and asked her if she was ready to head home. I chewed on my lower lip watching their interaction; jealousy was on the forefront of my mind.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Opie said quietly in my ear. I hadn't even noticed he was behind me.

I turned around and looked up at him. "Ope, you don't need to bring me home. I can catch a ride with my dad." I glanced over at my dad, who had just settled down with Chibs and Tig for a round of beers. "Ummm."

Opie laughed. Ugh, his laugh gave me butterflies. "I go right by your place Nora. You do so much for me and the kids, let me take you back to your place."

I nodded in agreement. "Alright let me just go say goodbye to my dad." I walked over to my dad and hugged him from behind and kissed his cheek. "Bye Daddy."

He looked over his shoulder, his brown eyes searched my face. "You leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, Ope is going to give me a ride home. I need to work on my clothing designs, tomorrow and if I say and drink it's not going to happen."

"Alright baby." My dad then pointed at Opie. "You take good care of my daughter."

Opie glanced at me and then at my dad. "Of course."

I couldn't believe that my dad said that to Opie. He had never really said anything like that to his brothers. He knew I was in good hands with them. I was probably safer with them than I was with him. Or at least that was how I felt.

We walked out with Jax and Tara; she linked arms with me again. "You need to come over next weekend and have a girl's night with me. We can rent a few movies or look through what Jax has." I gave her a sideways glance because we both knew Jackson's movies were not something we would watch. Tara laughed, "Yeah, we will rent a movie…Jax probably just has porn and motorcycle movies."

I laughed. "I would love to hang out. It will give me something to look forward to after working my ass of on my designs." I had to get them to Miranda and Leif by the end of the week.

I stopped by Juice's motorcycle and collected my helmet. I strapped it on while walking to Opie's bike. This would be the closest I had been to him since the night he came home drunk.

Opie had his Harley started and ready to go when I got to him. I climbed on the back of his bike and wrapped my arms around him. God, he smelled so good, I could have sat like that for hours. My stomach did flips, and my hormones were in super drive. I would have to have an ice bath after the ride.

"Ready, mermaid?" Ope turned his head and asked.

I nodded, "I was born ready." With that he took off.

The ride to my place was not long enough. I was dying to go further and longer. Opie pulled his bike up to the front of the building that held my loft; I reluctantly got off when he came to a park. But what surprised me was Opie got off as well. He gazed down at me.

"You going to invite me in?" He asked boldly.

 _Fuck, absolutely yes!_ I thought to myself. I reigned myself in. "Sure, you want to come in to my loft and have a beer, Opie?" I did a quick run through in my head about whether I had left anything out that shouldn't have been left out. I couldn't remember leaving any dirty underwear or worse out, so I was doing pretty well. My paintings of Donna weren't anything but drawings at that point and they were put away.

"A beer too?" He smirked as he followed me to the building. I unlocked the door and we made our way up to my door.

Opie was so close to me. If I had turned around I was pretty sure I would have been face to face, well face to chest with him. I opened my door and allowed him go in first. "Welcome to my place." I turned on the light next to the door.

He looked around my small loft and smiled. "This is nice Nora."

"Hey thanks." I giggled as I grabbed a couple of beers out of the fridge. "I haven't had any guys here since I was like 17. I feel like I am breaking rules." It tended to be a place where I brought guys when I was younger. Mainly my boyfriend at the time but there were a few one-night stands that happened after my ex.

Opie snorted. "Oh, you're such a rebel, Nor." His gaze traveled to my tattoo peaking out of my breasts. "What made you get that there?" He asked.

I looked down at my tattoo. "I thought it would fit nicely." It was really the only explanation I had for him. I liked how it fit. I was definitely all about aesthetically pleasing position of my tattoos.

"It looks good there, Nor." He closed the space between us and ran his hand across my tattoo.

My heart was pounding hard and by breathing picked up. I looked up at Opie, his hazel eyes were warm and inviting. He brushed a stray hair out of the way and cupped my face. Was he really going to make a move? After all this time? And after such a short time since Donna? Of course, she would enter my mind at that moment.

"God damn you're beautiful Nora." Opie whispered before placing his lips on mine.

He tasted like beer and tobacco as his tongue entered my mouth. I moaned against him as his hands entangled in my hair. My mind was utter mush and I was a ball of utter lust. I wrapped my arms around him and grasped him close to me. He knew what he was doing that was for sure. If it wasn't for his burner vibrating in his pocket I am sure things would have progressed between us.

"Fuck." He muttered as he pulled away from me. I was left panting and wanting so much more. "Yeah?" He answered. "Okay. Yeah. No problem. I'm dropping Nora off right now. I'll stop by Jax on my way." Opie quickly closed his phone with a frown. "I'm sorry. I have to go. We will have to pick that up some other time." He smirked and kissed me quickly before making his way out the door.

I took a deep breath after he left and plopped myself down on my love seat. That kiss was good…it was really fucking good.

* * *

 _A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. More to come soon! XOXO._


	6. Dreams Bigger than Charming

_Thanks you all for the favorites/follows and of course the reviews. I really appreciate them. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.  
_ _As always let me know what you think of it!  
xoxo_

* * *

I dreamed about Opie's lips on mine all-night long. I wanted more of that, so much more of that. When I woke the next morning, I was convinced that our encounter was just a dream. A fabulous dream; even though it seemed so real.

I rolled over in bed and the dull thud of a headache started in the back of my brain. I climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. I would have to be sure to thank Half Sack for making sure that my glass never went empty all night. I grabbed some pain killers, threw them in my mouth and stuck my face under the facet to get a drink of water. I wiped the water off my face with my sleeve and stared at myself in the mirror for a while. I had just dyed my hair a few weeks prior, but the color was already starting to fade to a lighter shade of teal. I considered dying my hair back to its natural golden-brown color, it would certainly be easier. My first thought was I wouldn't be a mermaid anymore. _Nope, leaving it for now._ I thought to myself.

The floor was cool under my bare feet as I walked out into the kitchenette. There were two beer bottles sitting on the counter. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach; the kiss hadn't been a dream. My face flushed with heat and feel Opie's lips on mine all over again.

"Well fuck." I muttered to myself. I ran my hand threw the tangled mess I called hair. That was really not what I expected to happen when I moved back home.

* * *

The sun was bright and high in the sky by the time I finally left my place. I decided I would show my face at the SAMCRO club house after my dad called me and told me that Gemma was looking for me. She had mentioned that she was going to have one of her dinners and she probably looking for me to help her. Oh, who was I kidding; that was totally why Gemma was looking for me. It was pretty much a requirement for me to help.

I got into my car and had it started before I noticed a piece of paper slipped under the windshield wiper. I frowned as I got out to grab the paper assuming it was just an advertisement. I had gotten a few of them for new companies that were opening on Main Street. I pulled the paper out from under my wiper, but it wasn't an advert, it was a note. I guess someone had placed it on the wrong car. I glanced at the note.

 _I should have ignored my cell. Spending time with you would have been so much better, then what I had to do. -Opie_

I sharply sucked in a breath. Opie had left me a note; well that was a first. I mean sure I had gotten notes from boys in high school, but I never thought I would get a message from a Son, let alone one that mentioned he would rather be with me than the club. I folded up the note and placed it to my lips before putting it my glove box. That was all the proof I needed to prove that the kiss I had dreamed about was not really a dream at all.

I pulled into Teller Morrow and got out of my car. The day shaping up to be a hot one. I was glad I wore light green billowy tank top and a pair of khaki cotton shorts. One thing that I had not missed about home was the extreme of the California dessert heat. Daytimes tended to be excruciating when the nights were slightly cooler, but not much. Gemma's car was not in the parking lot, so I started towards the clubhouse, I had planned on making myself at home on the roof to doing some work before the day got too hot. It was quiet, but not too quiet that I couldn't work.

"Nor?" Juice called from behind me. I turned to see him walking from the garage. He must have been on mechanic duty. I knew how much he hated working in the garage even though he was one of the more decent mechanics.

"Hey." I smiled as he reached me. The sound of motorcycles filled the yard. Such a norm to Teller-Morrow and the SAMCRO clubhouse so I didn't bother to look and see who had pulled in.

Juice ran his hand over his faux-hawk. "So, Bobby pulled me aside yesterday and was pissed off that I hadn't asked him about dating his kid." Juice air quoted the word kid. "He said it was disrespectful of me."

Of course, my dad did that. I shook my head. "Isn't Tiki a little young for you Juicy?" I teased, it felt good to laugh at him. Juice was always good for a laugh.

Juice stopped dead in his tracks. "Tiki?" He said quietly and then grabbed me and pulled me into him. "TIKI?!" He smirked at me as he pulled me tightly into him.

"Let go of me, you dick." I giggled as I struggled against him. "I can't help that you have a hard on for my little brother." I smirked and punched him as he let go of me.

"Ouch, shit." Juice rubbed his stomach where I punched him. "After everything I did for you."

"Serves you right for grabbing me." I stuck my tongue out at him and proudly pranced into the building. I was sure whoever was in the parking lot just got the same idea about Juice and me that my dad had. Whatever, I guess there was only one person, I cared about thinking that Juice and I were an item and it seemed like we hashed that out last night.

Half Sack told me that she had just gone to pick up Abel and that she would be back in a while. I thanked him after giving him a hard time about feeding me drinks the night before. He apologized profusely but refused to give up the guy who wanted me drunk. I finally gave up and made my way up to the roof. I hadn't been up there since I had left. It was one place where I had found peace when I needed it. It was safe because it was at the clubhouse, but it was also secluded and quiet.

I pulled out my work and started to sketch out one of the last outfits I needed to finish. I just needed to figure out the colors for everything. I had to touch base with Lea and see what sort of color or pattern scheme she was going with. Then I would be finished with this project. The next time I saw the sketches they would be in their physical forms of clothing. For that I would likely have to head to New York. I sighed, that really was the last place I wanted to be right then.

Footsteps crunching along the roof top pulled me from my drawing; they were far too heavy to be Gemma or Tara's.

"Hey there, Mermaid." Opie sat down next to me and leaned close to me to look at my handy work. My stomach broke out with instant butterflies. "The clothes are coming along nicely." Ope smiled at me. He had seen the piles of discarded sketches in his recycling bin; so seeing the finished product was probably nice for him.

I could feel my face flush. "Thanks, Ope." I didn't know how to act around him all of a sudden, especially after the kiss and then the note. All I wanted was to feel his lips on mine again. I cleared my throat before continuing. "Pretty much done. Just need to find out what Lea wants for colors and then I can finish them up…" I rambled as I looked down at my sketch pad.

Opie brushed my hair behind my ear and stared at me. It made me feel so naked. "Did you get my message?" He asked quietly.

I nodded prior to looking up at him. "I did. I thought it was a bit of advertisement. I nearly tossed it." I smirked. "I've never had a note left on my car before. It was super sweet, Opie." I bumped my shoulder into his arm.

A tiny smile crossed Opie's face, but was quickly replaced by a frown. He looked as he had something on his mind and I was dying to know what it was. He finally broke the silence. "Do you and Juice having something going on?"

I shook my head. Of course, he thought we did; I mean just the day before he had walked in on me jumping across a table to hug Juice. I also knew that the guys in SAMCRO gossiped worse than retired elderly women. I was sure that the guys also gave Juice a hard time about spending time with me and not getting any pussy. Little did they know he was protecting me and helping me out big time.

I looked down at my hands that where clutching my sketch pad tightly. "No Opie. There isn't any thing going on between Juice and me. We're just friends. He's been helping me out with computer problems, I have been having." Well it wasn't really a lie. "Why do you ask Ope?" I looked back up at him hoping to hear what I long to hear from him.

"I saw you two when I pulled up. You looked awfully friendly. I don't want to step in on a brother's territory." He replied nonchalantly as if we had this conversation every day. How could he be so god damn calm? I was a bundle of nerves.

"Oh that." Why did couldn't it have been anyone, but Opie who had witness that? "I was just giving him shit." I guessed I should explain myself. "My dad approached him last night and asked him why he hadn't asked him about spending quality time with his kid. I just told Juice that he was too old for Tiki." I couldn't help but laugh when I thought of the look on Juice's face when I said that. It was one of shock and annoyance. "Then he viciously attacked me, so I had to defend myself."

Opie laughed. I really liked his laugh, it was joyful and unfortunately, he didn't do it often enough. "He did say something about how hard your punch was as he made his way back to the garage."

Jax had taught me to defend myself when I was younger. I hadn't had to use it until then and obviously he did a good job.

"I'm glad. Maybe he will remember not to fuck with me again." I joked as I started packing my stuff. It was getting hot on the roof and I didn't just mean Opie. If I was hot with my light clothing, I couldn't imagine how Opie felt in his black leather kutt. "Care to join me down in the clubhouse for a drink?" I asked as I stood up, wiped off my bottom and waited for Opie.

We made our way back to the stairwell and Opie grabbed my arm; he pulled me against him. My heart pounded hard in my chest and I found it hard to breath. Before I could say anything, Opie's lips crashed into mine. One of his hands held the small of my back while the other was entwined in my hair. I dropped my bag and wrapped my arms around him and moved myself closer to him. It felt as if our kiss slowed the world down and that it lasted forever. This kiss was different from the one the night before. It was still passionate, but it was less tentative and more wanting.

When we finally parted, I had to catch my breath. _Wow!_ I thought to myself.

"That was nice." I muttered more to myself than to Opie.

"Yeah it was. Just like last night." He smiled down at me.

I thought about the note on my windshield. "So, making a move on me last night was far better than what you had to deal with last night, huh?" I snatched up my bag and pulled open the door to the clubhouse, the cool air from inside the building felt good.

Something flashed across Opie's face. "You don't even know how much better it would have been. I stand by what I said last night Nora." Opie stopped; his hazel eyes studied me. "I still think you're stunning."

I sucked the corner of my lower lip into my mouth and chewed on it as I processed his words. They were words I had longed to hear, especially from Opie. "You're easy on the eyes as well Ope. Oh, who am I kidding? I think your fucking hot." I smiled up at him. He grinned down at me, making stomach do a sudden flip.

"You have any plans this weekend Mermaid?" He asked. I wondered if Opie was going to ask me out.

I was about to say nothing because that was general M.O., but I remembered I had made drunken plans with Tara. "Actually…I do. I am having a girls' night in at Jax's place with Tara on Saturday night." I smiled at the thought of building a better relationship with Tara. It was nice to have someone around who understand what it was like to be involved in the club and its members. Gemma was fine enough but she didn't understand; she was queen and never issues with things. Or at least she never acted like she did.

We made our way through the hallway that held the dorms. "Hmm." Opie ran his hand over his beard. "I was looking for someone to hang out with the kids." He was teasing me. I knew damn well the kids wouldn't be back for another week and a half.

"Bummer." I shrugged my shoulders and smirked. "Maybe I could hang out with them afterwards or on Sunday." I suggested as we walked into the bar room.

"We'll figure something out. They really like you." Opie winked at me before making his way over to the bar.

I was about to join him, but Gemma called my name from the doorway. I sighed and may way to the door.

"Hurry up sweetheart! The car is running with Abel in it. We're going shopping." Gemma barked in her normal impatient style.

"Alright! Alright!" I shook my head. I swear I heard Opie and Half Sack's chuckles from behind me. _Huck it up, assholes._ I thought to myself.

The rest of my afternoon was spent with Gemma shopping for food for the dinner party she was throwing the next day. I loved our family dinners. I never thought I would be saying it, but I had really missed them. The last one that I had been to was just before I left for New York. There was some sort of drama going on between some of the members; I was never privy to which members, but the tension could have been cut with a knife. So, it would be nice to replace the crappy memory with some new happier ones.

When Gemma finally brought me back to my car it was dark outside. I was going to head into the clubhouse to hang out for a bit, but all bikes were gone. My only assumption was that they were out on club business. I had really just wanted to see Opie again. I had decided to head home after a brief contemplation of what to do. I had beer at home and I never knew if being at the clubhouse when the guys came back would be a good thing after they were on a run, so going home would be the best idea. I knew and accepted my place when it came to SAMCRO's business and tried to avoid it if I could. One of the many thing that Gemma had drilled that into my head at a young age; as did my dad, although he was a bit gentler about it and tried to make up for miss out of things in my life because of SAMCRO. So, home it was.

* * *

"Hello?" I mumbled into the phone as I rolled over in my bed. I had stayed up late working on Ellie and Kenny's paintings of Donna. I had them both sketched out on the canvases. I would likely have them finished before they got home from their aunt's house.

"Sweetheart, where are you?" Gemma's annoyed voice erupted in my ear.

"What?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes and glanced at my clock. _Shit it was after 2 o'clock_. Gemma had asked me to be at her place by 2 pm. "Fuck. I'm sorry. I guess I forgot to set my alarm last night. I was working on gifts for Ellie and Kenny. Give me twenty minutes and I will be there." I sat up in bed and stretched out my body a bit.

Gemma exhaled, I could tell she was smoking. "Twenty minutes is all you get Nora." There was a tone of amusement in her voice before she said her goodbyes and told me to hurry my ass up.

I pulled myself out of bed. I really needed to stop pulling all night art sessions. I quickly dressed in a pair of jean shorts and black tank top that had a sheer lace back. I opted for comfort verses sexy when I grabbed my black converse low tops out of the closet. I threw my hair up in a messy bun and put on some mascara before dashing out the door.

I made it to Gemma and Clay's house in record time. There were a few cars in the drive way already along with Gemma's Cadi. I walked into their house it and felt like I was home all over again. When I was younger I had spent quite a few nights at Gemma's house when my dad was out on club business.

"Hey, I am here." I called out from the front door before making my way towards the kitchen. I knew that was where Gemma was held up.

"We're in the kitchen sweetheart." Gemma responded from the kitchen.

I couldn't help but wonder who _we_ were. It was probably some croweaters, however I was pleasantly surprised to see it was Luann and Tara. They were both busy getting things together for the meal. It seriously took an army to feed SAMCRO.

"I am so sorry I'm late. I got super involved in a project for Ellie and Kenny." I smiled apologetically.

Gemma handed me a bag of potatoes and a knife. "It's fine sweetheart. Just start in on those." She nodded at the bag of nodded at the bag that was in my hand.

I made my way to some free counter space next to Tara. Thankfully she was there. "How were you feeling after the other night?" I smirked. I drank less than she did and still woke up with a headache; I couldn't imagine how she felt.

Tara shook her head. "I surprisingly felt okay. I mean I had a bit of a headache, but otherwise I was okay. How did you feel?"

First thing I thought about was Opie and the kiss. I could feel my cheeks warm. "The same. Just a headache in the morning and then was fine. If I hadn't felt decent, I don't think that I would have been able to make it through an afternoon shopping with Gemma."

I prayed that my blushing cheeks would go unnoticed and gave Tara a side glance, but she was busy mixing whatever she was making. Thank goodness. I didn't want to risk things getting about whatever Opie and I were about to step into with Gemma around. She would act like she wouldn't say anything to anyone, but she would tell Clay. It would get out before we even decided what was going on between us.

Thankfully the rest of dinner prep was filled with quiet chatter about Abel, the on goings of Caracara and my latest projects I was working on. It wasn't long before the house was filled with the smell of roast and other baked goods. It was as if the guys could smell the food as well. The sounds of Harleys pervaded the house; and made my stomach dance. I knew Opie was on one of those bikes.

I leaned up against the counter and took a drink of my beer to try to calm my nerves. Fuck, why did he make me so nervous. I was never that way around Jax or any other guy that I had liked. Ugh, I couldn't wait to see him!

The guys all filed in the back door. Clay swept Gemma up into a kiss and she swatted him a way. I could feel a goofy smile cross my face. I liked seeing them interact so carefree like that. I looked away from them and up right in time to see Opie walk through the door. _Fuck_. My heart skipped a beat when he smiled at me and gave me a quick wink.

Before we could say anything to each other my dad pulled me into his arms. "How are you doing Nori?" He asked after letting me out of his embrace.

I smiled at my dad. "I'm good Daddy. Staying out of trouble."

My dad chuckled. "I had no doubt about that. You realize that we haven't really had a chance to spend anytime together since you have been home. You want to go for a ride this weekend?"

What was it, ask Nora on a date weekend? I thought to myself. "Actually, I have some plans this weekend."

My dad raised his eye brows and eyed me then glanced over at Juice. I followed his gaze. Juice frowned at us. I shrugged quickly before my dad turned back to me. "Too bad. Sometime soon then sweetheart." He kissed my head before Gemma shooed him out of her kitchen.

Dinner turned out to be a hit. Of course, most of Gemma's dinners were fabulous. This one seemed to stick out to me than all the other SAMCRO dinners I had, had in my life. I couldn't pin it down to one moment or a single reason why. It might have been that I was just happy to be back in Charming and that I had missed the feeling of being home. It could have also been that I was finally experiencing some contentment and security again.

After dinner was over I went to go sit in Gemma's garden. It was shaping up to be a lovely evening. A lot of the others had come out as well. I leaned back in one of the chairs and closed my eyes. I listened to the happy voices fill the air. I let out a deep sigh. That was what life should be like…the feeling I had right at that moment. Someone sitting down in the chair next to me pulled me from my contented reflection.

"Oh, hey Dad." I smiled lazily at him.

"Hey Nori. So, what is going on with you and Juice?" He asked me straight out. Well there was no beating around the bush with him was there?

I snorted before straightening up in the chair. He had never questioned me about guys I been interested in or was seeing before. It made me uncomfortable, even if I didn't have anything going on with Juice. "Absolutely nothing Dad. Juice and I are just friends. We don't have anything going on."

He looked at me as if he didn't believe me. "Are you sure about that sweetie?"

An incredulous laugh erupted from me. "Yes. I am very sure that Juice and I have nothing going on. Dad, come on. What is this all about?"

My dad turned one of his rings on his finger before looking up at me. "Nor, I just want to be sure that you are making the right decision for yourself. I would hate to see you get caught up in something here; when your dreams have always been bigger than Charming." His brown eyes studied me briefly.

I smiled at my dad. "Right now, Charming is the only place I want to be. And if I get caught up as you so eloquently put it maybe it was meant to be and if not then it will be fine." I glanced up to see Opie and Jax chatting close by us; he gave me a quick wink and smirk when Jax turned to talk to Tara. God damn that man had my mind all jumbled.

"I just don't want to see you throw your dreams away Nora." My dad reiterated.

"Alright Daddy. I get it." I sighed before rising and kissing his cheek. My feeling of contentment gone. "I think I am going to call it a night. I love you, Daddy." I knew he was really just looking out for my well being and best interest. I had always dreamt of being anywhere but Charming. However, being home after being away for so long made rethink that. It wasn't the fact that I was running from my past either. I wanted to be in Charming. I wanted to see where things went with Opie.

"I love you too kiddo." He gave my hand a quick squeeze before releasing it.


	7. So Close, Yet So Far

Chapter 7

* * *

 _ **A.N.: Thank you all for your continued adds, likes and comments. I really appreciate your support. I have been considering throwing in an Opie POV into my story. What do you think? Please feel free to let me know what you think of this chapter. Enjoy  
**_ _ **xoxo**_

* * *

I felt instant relief as I handed the envelope that was stuffed full of my clothing designs for Lea to the mail woman. It was a huge weight taken off my shoulders; to no longer have it looming over me. Although, I felt like I had to start a new project, because I had been working on the designs for so long. That project was a small piece of New York, I had brought home with me to Charming. I was surprisingly sad to see it come to an end. It made my decision to leave NYC so final.

I was actually a little bit down about things as I walked back along Main Street towards my apartment. As I got closer to my place I noticed a piece of paper flapping on the windshield of my car. It was the fourth day in a row that I had a note on my car. My heart beat quickly as I approached my car and took the note out from under my wiper. I opened and found the writing, I had quickly become accustom to:

 _Nora  
Hurry up and finish those damn drawings.  
Can't wait to kiss those lips of yours again…and again.  
~ O_

I chewed on my lower lip as I stared at the note, it made my heart skip a beat. If Opie only wanted to get into my pants, he would have and certainly could have gotten in them by now. There was something different about this whole situation between us, and I had never experienced anything like it before.

I folded the note back up and decided it was about time that I showed my face at TM. I had been held up in my apartment for close to a week, so I would actually finish my sketches and make sure that they were perfect. I was dying for human contact other than my dad, who had made sure that I was fed during the week. He had put the word out, I was off limits until I finished my stuff. My dad was such a good man and he had the best intentions at heart, but shit he could be overbearing when it came to me finishing my work. I knew he wanted me to follow my dreams, and he would have moved Heaven and Earth to make sure that happened.

I pulled into TM; the guys bikes were all lined up nicely and none of them were lounging around outside. I figured they must have been in church. I wandered my way into the clubhouse and saddled up to the bar, where Half Sack was cleaning. It was long after I sat down the guys made their way out of church.

"Happy will be here later tonight." Clay's voice projected as he walked towards the bar. He gave me a nod.

"Hey." I announced myself; as if the guys wouldn't have noticed me sitting there. Opie's hazel eyes instantly met mine and he smirked. I felt that fucking smirk, right between my legs.

"Hi, sweetheart. Where have you been?" Clay asked more out of obligation than really caring.

"Just finishing up some stuff for a friend in New York." I smiled politely. "Do you need me to get a dorm ready for Happy?" I asked, knowing that it was something that women of the club did. I needed something to distract me from thinking about Opie and how pent up I was beginning to feel.

Clay smiled sincerely at me, which rarely ever happened. "That would be great, Nor. Thank you."

I nodded my head. "Yeah, no problem." I hopped off of the chair I was sitting on and started towards the dorms, but not before stopping by and chatting with my dad. "Hey Daddy." I squeezed his broad shoulder gently.

"Hi Nora. Did you get everything sent off okay?" His brown eyes studied me.

I snorted, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Such a silly question to ask me. "I sent them out this morning, over night to New York. Cost me an arm and a leg to do, but it will be worth it in the end." I added. If my designs caught the eye of the right person, it would be the break that I needed.

"That's great sweetie. I have some club shit to take care of, but I hope you'll be here tonight." My dad embraced me.

I gave him a quizzical look as we parted. "What is going on tonight?"

"Hap is coming into town." Was his response as if I should have known.

Oh, of course…Happy was coming into town so let's throw a party. SAMCRO loved parties about as much as they loved their motorcycles and women. "Sure, I will try to carve some time out of my busy schedule to be here." I smirked, he knew I had absolutely nothing going on.

"Good girl." My dad patted my head as he turned and walked away.

I shook my head and started towards the dorms once more. I thought about how I had met Happy once before leaving for New York. The bald-headed biker from Tacoma scared the shit out of me. I was glad he was a member of SOA and not some other rival club or gang. From what I knew of him he was the enforcer and he took his job seriously, he was ruthless. By the time I got to the empty dorm room I was certain I never wanted to be alone in a room with Happy.

The dorm room was filthy and smelled as if it had been used more than once by some members and croweaters. It made me regret offering to clean the room, but I knew I had to suck it up and just clean it, there was really no backing out when it came to SAMCRO. I wrinkled my nose and breathed through my mouth as I started to pull the dirty bedding off of the bed. I tried really hard not to think about what might be on the linens as I threw them on the floor. It would take several gallons of bleach to get the smell of sex out of them.

"Easy there, Mermaid." Opie called from behind me.

The sound of his voice made my stomach erupt with butterflies. I turned to see the bedding I had just tossed behind me laying right at his feet. "Sorry about that. I didn't think anyone was behind me." It made me wonder how long he had been standing there, watching me.

Opie shut the door behind him, I heard the click of the lock and purposefully made his way towards me. My heart pounded hard against my chest. "Hi." I whispered up at him as he pulled me into his arms.

Opie smiled down at me before placing his lips on mine. I slipped my hands under his kutt and lightly dug my nails into his back as I grasped him closer to me. This kiss turned me inside out and made me want to utilize the bed behind me.

Opie pulled away from our kiss and placed his forehead on mine. "I've been waiting to do that all week." His warm, hazel eyes gazed into mine.

"I wouldn't have guessed. I mean it's not like you left me little notes saying what you wanted to do to me when you saw me again." I smirked as I thought about the notes he had left me. They were overall sweet, but one was a little more explicit and it set me on fire with lust. Well, at least more than I already was. "I mean if you are just trying to get into pants…" I stepped back from him and started fumbling with my top button of my shorts, more as a joke than anything. But hell, if he wanted me, then why not?

A chuckle erupted from him. "Nora." Opie pulled me back into him. "Not here. Not now." His eyes expressed a quiet lust. He planted kiss on my forehead. "You deserve more than a croweater."

Damn right I did, however, it didn't mean that I didn't want him to undress me right then and there. God, I lusted for Ope and it was only getting worse as my affections grew for him.

I gazed at him briefly before closing the space between us; wrapping my arms around his midsection I looked up at him. "Thanks Opie." A soft smile crossed my face.

"Mermaid, you're not just some croweater or girl to fuck around with." He planted another kiss on the top of my head. "I should get back out there before someone gets suspicious." Opie released me and stepped away, before he walked out of the room he turned back to me. "I am going to pick you up from Jax and Tara's on Saturday night." Without even hearing my answer he left the room.

The rest of my day was filled with cleaning and prepping the room for Happy. I couldn't believe how messy the guys who used the room were…okay wait, I could. It was disgusting. I found several thongs under the bed and a used condom which made me about lose my breakfast. It gave me a whole new respect for the prospects of the club, the had to clean up after these assholes all the time.

When I was close to being done cleaning, I made my way out to the bar. No one was around except for Half Sack. "Hey. Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Club shit." Sack muttered as he restocked the bar. "How's the room coming along? From what I head Happy is fastidiously neat."

I frowned as I remembered hearing from one of the croweaters saying something about that. "It's coming along. The guys are fucking slobs. And I have heard that Happy is a neat freak, so I am working hard on getting cleaned to his expectations."

Half Sack smiled. "You want a beer?"

He had a nice smile, it was genuine and that could be rare in this lifestyle. "I never thought you would ask." I smiled back at him. "What made you want to become a member of SAMCRO?" I asked him. "I mean no offense, but you don't seem like typical type that normally wants to be a member. You don't even have a Harley or a bike for that matter." Which was an integral part of a motorcycle club.

Sack stared at me for a moment, it looked as if he was trying to figure out why he was in the club. "I used to have a motorcycle before I joined the army. I sold it when I went to boot camp. I wanted to be a lifer when it came to protecting our country, however I was injured in battle and received a full medical discharge. I was alone for a while after that; before moving to Charming and finding the club. I found after seeing what I saw in Iraq, I didn't really belong anywhere; that is until I found SAMCRO. Chibs offered to sponsor me and here I am, a prospect. Sure, the guys treat me like shit from time to time, but I have never felt more at home or like a member of the family as I do here." He smiled over at me.

All that rang true to me and I was born into the club. SAMCRO took in lost souls from Patch members all the way down to Croweaters; everyone was family. We would do anything for a member of our family. I could see that appeal.

Not knowing what to say to Half Sack, I smiled at him. "I didn't realize you were injured. I mean you don't really seem like you are impaired." I was curious to know what sort of injury he had. I had seen him without his shirt in the boxing ring and he didn't seem to have any visible scars.

"Um..." He fidgeted. "I lost one of my testicles while serving."

Then it dawned on me how he got his nickname. "Oh."

He must have sensed my unease and took advantage of it. "You want to see?" Half Sack pulled at the front of his jeans.

Yelped and quickly jumped up. "Ah, no thanks Sack. I will take your word on it." I took my beer to go and made my way back to the room. I did not need to see Kip's missing testicle, even my artistic side didn't want to see that scar. I could hear Half Sack laughing hard as I got to the room. The asshole made me uncomfortable on purpose. I suppose I deserved it, after what I did when we first met.

* * *

I was leaning over the bed putting the sheets on it when I felt a hand run up my bare thigh. Opie was seriously pushing my limits and sooner or later I was going to snap with all the teasing. I was wound tight and I honestly didn't know how much longer I could go without getting some.

"I thought I was better than a croweater." I muttered as his hand ran roughly up my thigh and between my legs.

"We'll see about that." A gruff voice that was not Opie's said.

It was a voice I did not recognize, I whipped around quickly. I was face to face with Happy and his intense brown eyes. I tried to take a step back but was met by the bed. "I..um…" I tried to formulate what to say but he intimated the shit out of me.

Happy smiled, well what could have been considered a smile from him. "Clay must have known I would need a release. Now, get on your knees and give me a fucking blow job." He demanded.

"No." I glared up at him. What the fuck? I was not some gift from Clay. I tried to step around Happy, but he took me by the arm and pulled me into him.

"Feisty. I like it." He grinned as if I were a challenge and he pulled me into him.

I tried to push him off of me; it was like hitting a fucking brick wall, there was no moving him. He grasped my breast somewhat aggressively; Happy was obviously not catching onto my non-verbal cues. For someone who was supposed to understand those things he was fucking clueless. I could feel a knot building in the back of my throat. Why the fuck couldn't I just tell him to fuck off? I would have told any other man to just back off, but Happy was just so goddamn scary.

"What the fuck?" Opie was standing in the doorway.

Relief washed over me as Happy stepped back from me and I was able to escape the room. I rushed down the hallway towards the roof. I needed to get out of the hell out of the club house. I took the stairs quickly, whipped the door to the roof open and slammed it behind me. I took a deep breath hoping the desert air would clear my racing mind; it didn't.

"Nor?" Opie called out for me as his feet crunched over the roof.

The sight of Ope made me start to cry. I don't know it was about seeing him, I felt so weak.

"Hey." Opie said quietly as he took me into his arms gently. It was so opposite of how Happy had just been. "Shh." He tried to sooth me.

I let it all out as I cried into Opie's chest, everything that had been holding so deep within me broke free. The thing with Happy was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Being in Opie's arms finally made me feel safe.

"You want to tell me about is going on?" Opie asked as finally stopped crying and just sat there silently in his arms.

I shook my head but went ahead and told him anyway. "He's so fucking scary." I muttered embarrassingly.

Opie chuckled and looked down at me, "Nora, he scares everyone, but he is a good guy. You should have just told him who you were, he would have backed off. You don't have to worry about him putting the moves on you again. I told him you were Bobby's kid. Never seen Happy look ill before but telling him you were a daughter of a patch member, seemed to do it."

"Thanks, Ope. I don't know what I would have done if you wouldn't have walked in." I sniffled.

"Mermaid, you would have gotten to a point where you would have told him to back off." He seemed so confident in what he was saying but I didn't feel that way. "I'm glad you don't have a thing for Happy because I have to admit seeing you there in his arms made me feel awfully jealous." Opie admitted.

I let out a quiet snort, "Opie you have nothing to be jealous of. There is only one Son I have eyes for."

"You want to tell me about him?" He asked as he pulled me flush against his body. "Maybe I can put a good word in for you." Ope smirked.

I smiled up at him. "Well, let's see. He is tall, tattooed and handsome."

"Nora, you just described ninety percent of the club."

"He's got a beard." Opie raised his eyebrows as if he was saying he wanted to know more about my bearded crush. "Warm hazel eyes and a sexy smile." I rubbed my body against his. I shit you not, this man made me feel like a freakin' cat in heat.

Opie lightly gripped my hips and stopped my movements. He shook his head at me. "Doesn't sound like anyone I know. Too bad though. He would be a lucky guy. Do you think you could settle for a bearded biker who has a thing for girls who look like mermaids and has a couple of kids?"

"Hmm, I don't know about that. Tig is old enough to be my dad. But I will mull it over." I turned to walk away but Opie pulled me back into him.

"Really?" He muttered with a smirk and placed his lips on mine.

I melted.

* * *

Tara took a seat on the couch across from where I was sitting. "Now tell me what happened." She looked at me with excitement in her green eyes.

I shook my head not really wanting to relive that evening. "Happy came into the room when I was cleaning it and thought that I was a croweater or some sort of sweet butt Clay left for him. Thank god Opie walked in because Happy scares the shit out of me and I didn't know what to do. Turns out he is actually a pretty decent guy who can not read my body language cues. After I escaped for a bit…" I left out the part where Opie and I had a pretty hot make out session. "and went to the party Happy pulled me aside and apologized for his egregious actions. His words not mine. Promised he would never sneak up on a girl again and assume that she was meant to be his gift. Then he asked if there was anyone I needed dead. I suppose that is his way of making up for things." I shrugged. I mean there was someone I wanted dead, but she had been pretty quiet, so I was hoping the distance made her obsession lessen.

"Shoot Nora, I have never heard of Happy apologizing to anyone but club members." She took a drink of her vodka and orange juice.

"Well, I am sure he didn't want to get in trouble with my old man. He would have put Happy in his place. People underestimate my dad because of his quiet and calm nature but there is a beast under it all waiting to be unleashed." I giggled. I had only seen that beast come out once and it was when my mom's boyfriend put his hands on me.

Tara shook her head, "Bobby just holds in all in for the right moment." She grinned. "Do you need a refill before we start watching some oldies but goodies?"

I looked down at my empty glass, I hadn't realized that I had drank the whole thing already. The rum and cokes were going down smoothly. "Sure." I smiled. "But I can get it myself."

"Um, no you're my guest tonight. If you want to help, pick out the first movie and put it in." Tara snatched my glass out of my hand and made her way into Jax's kitchen.

I pulled the three movies off the table and stared at them. I didn't know which one I wanted to watch first. We had decided to have an 80's movie night: _Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club_ and _St Elmo's Fire_. I grabbed _Breakfast Club_ , it was one of my favorites and put it into the DVD player. There was something about disenfranchised youth that rang true to me.

"Good choice." Tara said as she made her way back into the room.

We only made it halfway though the movie before our attentions went to chatting about stuff. I had decided that I was going to tell her about what was going on between Ope and me. I needed to have someone to confide in that knew about him and the club…Rose just didn't get it.

I took a deep breath, "So I have a thing for Opie." I blurted out.

An all-knowing smile came over Tara's face. "Oh, I know. I've been waiting for you tell me all about what was going on between you two."

If she knew who else knew. "How do you know?" I asked with a frown.

She let out a slightly drunk giggle. "I overheard Jax and Opie talking the other night. Opie asked what Jax thought about the two of you. Sounded like Jax gave his seal of approval. I think you would be good for him after Donna."

Her name hit me hard in the gut. _Donna._ Of course, Tara had to mention her, I had been trying to shut her out her memory when I was with Opie. I had been getting good at it because my feelings for him were down right intense. But here I was faced with her name, with the thought I was doing something with her husband because she died. It stuck me that if Donna hadn't died I wouldn't have this amazing thing with Opie.

"Shit, sorry I mentioned Donna. It has to be hard living in that shadow. Maybe Donna set this up for both of you?" _That's a long shot and such a flowery way of looking at things._ "She would want Opie to love again and for you to be happy. She would also want someone, who loved her kids as much as she did. And we all know you do. Plus, it would be selfish of her to want him all to herself even in death." Tara must have seen my internal struggle. She definitely knew what to say, the tightness in my chest lightened. "I'm going to go get you another drink."

I could tell Tara immediately regretted what she said as she fumbled her way into the kitchen. I needed to lighten my mood and hers. I walked into the kitchen and smiled at her. "That man is going to be the death of me Tara. He is more of a cock tease than I am. I need to take cold showers every time I am around him. I suppose he is karma coming to bite me in the ass." I tried to suppress the laughter that was building in me.

Tara laughed. "That is hilarious. I would have thought that you two would have already sealed that deal since you are always at his place. Most of the Sons are not patient when it comes to sex."

"Nope." I sighed. "I haven't had sex in over six months. There are likely cobwebs in my piping." I took the drink Tara offered me and laughed.

The rest of our evening went on with no more mention of Donna. We ended up watching _Sixteen Candles_ after finishing the first movie which neither of us really finished watching because we were talking so much. I guess it was just nice to have on background noise. By the end of the second movie we were well on our way to being drunk.

"I want to dance to this song." Tara stood up and started swaying and held her hand out to me. It was a slower song, it was "If You Were Here" by the Thompson Twins; the song that everyone associates with _Sixteen Candles_.

I took Tara's hand and she pulled me into a slow dance with her. We were swaying back and forth when Jax's voice pulled our attention for our girly dancing.

"Look at that, Ope. Our favorite ladies are slow dancing." Tara turned too quickly and stumbled towards Jax, he leaned forward just in time to catch her. "Whoa, someone has a little too much to drink."

"Just a little." Tara held her fingers a part a bit.

I snorted, she had far more to drink than I did. I was a little buzzed up but nothing that I couldn't handle, there was no way I could drive. I turned and looked over at Opie, who was gazing at me. My body flushed with heat. I instantly sucked in my lower lip and released it when Ope smiled at me. It was as if he knew what he was doing to my body.

"Can I give you a ride home, Mermaid?" He inquired.

"Sure. I have had far too much to drink, thanks to that one." I tilted my head towards Tara, who was being held up by Jax. "Good luck with that one Jackson." I smirked at him.

He frowned. "You're a bad influence on her Nora."

Tara shoved Jax. "Shut up Jackson. Nora is the best thing to have happened to me."

"Yeah, Jax." I stuck my tongue out at him before turning to Opie. "Okay, I am ready." I slung my bag over my head and across my shoulder.

We walked out to Opie's motorcycle and he handed me a helmet which I put on quickly. "You want to go for a bit of a ride, Nor?" He asked me quietly.

I sucked in a deep breath and nodded. "Absolutely." I couldn't wait to be close to him, to feel his body flush against mine. I was thrilled as I climbed on the motorcycle behind Opie. I could feel the rumble of the Harley deep within my body, leaving me wanting.

"You ready Mermaid?" Opie asked as he backed his bike out of Jax's driveway.

I snuggled by body closer to his and smiled, "I was born ready."

With those four little words, Opie's bike sped forward and out of Charming, leaving my stomach back in Jackson's driveway.

* * *

I unlocked the door to my loft but before I could open the door Opie turned me towards him and gently pushed me up against the door. His lips crashed against mine, his kiss was full of want and lust; but I am sure mine was as well. Ope's hand traveled under my shirt, his hand was cool against my warm skin. I moaned quietly against his mouth before I pulled away from him.

"Why don't we take this inside my loft. We don't need my neighbors seeing us in the hallway." I knew my sex deprived self would have allowed Opie to do anything to me, anywhere.

Opie reluctantly removed his hand from under my shirt and he placed it in my free hand. I pulled him over the threshold of my place and he closed the door behind him and locked it.

"A little presumptuous of you to lock the door, isn't it?" I teased. Because we both knew what was going to happen between us there are far too much building sexual tension to not.

Opie laughed. "I mean you didn't seem to be complaining in hallway. I can unlock it if you would be more comfortable. I mean I guess then I could make a quick escape." He teasingly turned towards the door.

I grabbed Ope's arm and pulled him back towards me. "No, quick getaways." I stood up on my toes and took his bearded face into my hands and kissed him slowly. This kiss took my breath away. Sure, I had initiated it, but Opie took over quickly; it was passionate and wanting.

"Want to take this to your bed Nora?" He asked me quietly in my ear before he kissed his way down my neck to my cleavage.

 _Fuck!_ I just nodded every fiber of my being was on full alert. It was as if I could feel vibrating inside of me. Nope, that wasn't me vibrating. It was Opie.

"God damn it." He growled as he stood up and pulled his phone out of his kutt. "What the fuck prospect?" He snapped. I could tell by his body language that we were not going to be having any fun tonight. "Yeah fine. Tell Clay I will be there in twenty minutes." Opie closed his phone and looked up at me. "Nor. I have to go, but I gave myself enough time to at least enjoy your body a bit longer."

I laughed. But couldn't decide if it was more out of frustration or irony of us getting interrupted. "Well why are we standing here then?" I asked as I pulled him the five feet to my bed and we toppled down on it.

I straddled him, feeling the growing lump in his pants. Knowing that I was only about to make it worse, I pulled my shirt over my head exposing my lacy black bra; I had worn for just this occasion. Opie's hand skimmed over the top of my breasts like the first night he had come to my place with me. This time however he moved his mouth to my tattoo, he traced the line work with his mouth. I let out quick, quiet pants. _God, I want this man._ Opie reached around to the back of my bra and he unlatched it. I allowed it to fall off my chest before discarding it on the floor.

I sat there Opie's gaze before he opened his mouth and smiled. "I was right. You do have nice breasts." He took one of my breasts into his hand and brought his mouth down to it. His tongue circled my nipple. _Good god, I might just climax from this._

There it was again the fucking vibrating. Opie was so engrossed in what he was doing he didn't pay any attention to the phone next him. "Ope." I whimper. Nothing but teeth grazing my breast. "Fuck!" I hissed. Forget the fucking phone. It stopped vibrating only to start back up again. "Opie. Your phone." I patted him on the back.

He gazed up at me with lust pooling in his hazel eyes. "Shit, Nor. I should go or they are never going to stop. I really fucking sorry."

I got off of his lap and stood up. "Ope, no need to apologize. I get it, the club comes first. We can pick this up some other time. I have B.O.B. out for a visit." I smirked slyly.

"Thanks, for understanding Nor." Opie stood and uncomfortably adjusted himself. A frown crossed his face, "wait, who is Bob?"

"Jealous Ope? Don't be, B.O.B. is my battery-operated boyfriend." I patted my night stand. "He has been getting quite a work out lately."

"My god, Nora. I really wish I could stay and see you and B.O.B." Opie groaned. "I will see you tomorrow and I promise I will make this up to you soon." He kissed me gently before leaving.

Damn right he would make it up to me. I was pulled about as thin and I could be pulled when it came to my sexual frustration. It was something that B.O.B. wouldn't be able to help me with.


	8. Love is ALE we need

**_Thanks for all the adds, comments and likes. You keep me going! I have to give a HUGE shout out to Ang...you are a life saver. Creativity flows deep with you! Y'all I don't know if my story would be half as good without her ;) I hope this was worth the wait! Enjoy! xoxo_**

* * *

 _Why is there ringing in my dream? I thought to myself, phones are not supposed to ring when I am dreaming. Stop ringing! I thought._ Stop the ringing. I slapped my arm around my night stand and grabbed my phone to stop the incessant ringing.

"Hello?" I answered through a sleep induced haze.

"God damn it, Nora!" My dad's exacerbated voice filled my ear. "Why haven't you answered your phone?" I was just about to answer, but he continued. "I was just about to send out a search party."

I snorted at him. Why the hell was he over reacting? Shit, He was so dramatic! "I just answered it didn't I? Seriously Daddy, I am fine. I was just up late." _Really late._ "What is so urgent?" I sat up in my bed and rubbed my eyes. Urg, I was still so tired. When I got off the phone with my dad, I was going to sleep the rest of the day away. I glanced back down at my pillows they looked so cozy and called my name…no wait that was my dad.

"Nora, pack a bag for a few days. We're going into lock down." Urgency oozed from him. I could picture his face donning a frown and his brow furrowed with concern. "The prospect will be at your place in ten minutes. If anyone but the prospect buzzes your place do not let them in and call me. Understand?"

I nodded as if he could see me, "yes, Dad."

There went my fabulous sleep idea and I doubt I could get any sleep in the hubbub of the SOA clubhouse.

I got out of bed and quickly started gathering some of my things. I had been through enough lock downs; I knew the club was in some sort of danger or there was some sort of repercussion making its way down. SAMCRO was in trouble and it held danger to those of us who were nearest to the club. I packed enough clothes for a few days, my toiletries, some art supplies, my pillow and blanket. I had just finished getting dressed when my door bell buzzed. I looked up at the clock on the wall, almost ten minutes.

"Hello?" I spoke into the intercom on my wall.

"Hey Nora, it's Half Sack." I recognized his voice.

"Come on up." I pushed the door release button to let him in. He was at my door in what seemed like seconds, it made me wonder if he ran up to my floor.

I looked out the peep hole and confirmed it was Sack. He stood fidgeting nervously. It made me want to leave him outside my door a bit longer. However, if I did he would have called my dad, thinking there was some sort of emergency. So, I decided to open my door.

"Hey Kip." I smiled as I stepped aside and let him in the studio. "Thanks for coming to get me. However, I doubt you had a choice."

Half Sack's eyes traveled the length of the studio. "Nice place you have here Nora. And I would rather pick you up then deal with what is going on at the clubhouse right now." He smiled down at me.

"Thanks, it's small but it works for me and I love it. We should really get going before my dad sends out the whole club for us. He is probably counting down the minutes before we get back." I joked as I grabbed one of my bags. Half Sack was turning to leave. "Um…do you want to be a gentleman and help a girl out?" I looked from him and back to my two other bags sitting on the floor. I mean I could have carried them since they were all ruck sacks, but he could have at least offered to help me.

"You lookin' to move into the clubhouse?" He laughed as he grabbed my bags from the floor and made his way out of my place.

I glared at him but made no effort to respond because all I wanted to tell him was to fuck off. I wondered how many lock downs he had been a part of in his time with SAMCRO. They could go anywhere from hours to days, so I had learned to be prepared for the latter. I remember one lock down in particular that lasted close to a week. It was right before I left to go to New York, I thought I had heard something about the Mayans. By the time we were allowed to go back to our normal lives, I never wanted to see any of the members of SAMCRO again, including my own father. I was worn thin by all the rules, all the confinement and mostly the people that came along with the MC.

When we got to the clubhouse, the lot was full, so Half Sack parked the van right in the middle of the lot. It looked like everyone the club knew, was currently there. It must have been pretty serious. I jumped out of the van and grabbed my bags; no need to ask Sack for help.

"Hey, don't you want help?" He called as he ran up beside me, trying to take one of my bags from me.

"No, I've got it." I snapped as yanked my bag roughly and made my way into the clubhouse, that was filled with chatter and commotion. I was really not looking forward to not having the quiet of my loft. I could already feel my artistic inspiration being bogged down by all the people and their personalities. _UGH!_

I made my way back to my dad's room to drop off my bags. When we were on lock down the rule was I was to unload my stuff in my dad's room and then find him, if I didn't arrive with him. I was surprised to see he wasn't pacing outside when we got there. It wasn't hard to find my dad, he as talking with Tig and a member from another charter.

"Hey Daddy." I wrapped my arm around his back and hugged myself to his side.

My dad smiled at me; his relief reflected in his brown eyes. He kissed the top of my head. "Hey Nora. Glad to see the prospect got you here safely."

I snorted at my dad for the second time that morning. As if my dad had any question on whether I was safe or not. If he didn't trust Half Sack, he wouldn't have sent him to get me and he would have had someone else do it. I guess it just stemmed from the fact that they all liked to give the prospects shit.

"Yup, safe and sound. No strangers at my door, well not unless you count Half Sack. I just wanted to check in before I go and find Gemma." I smiled and released my dad. I turned to walk away, not paying attention to where I was going I ran right into someone's back. "Shit, I am sorry." I mumbled, before realizing who it was, annoyed that the place was already packed.

Opie turned and looked down at me. _Was I sorry for running into him? No._ "Are you sure that you didn't do that on purpose Mermaid?" He grinned at me.

How had I not even noticed him? Normally, I was drawn to Opie like a moth to a flame. Ugh, a better question was how the hell was I going to make it through this lock down with him? There was no way I was going to manage being around Opie without losing my mind to my severe sexual frustration I was already suffering from. I had snapped at Juice so badly a few days before that he had been avoiding me. I was turning into a bitch. The answer to my question came running at me, yelling my name and then collided with my body. Ellie and Kenny, they were my perfect distraction from their father.

I hugged them both to me. "Hi guys! Are looking forward to this awesome slumber party?" I sounded too peppy for my own good.

Ellie gave me a look of apprehension. "I am because you're going to be here. Otherwise, I would rather be at home or at my aunt and uncle's house." I totally understood where she was coming from, there were not any girls her age and it wasn't like the croweaters were good role models for preteen girls.

Kenny smiled broadly, "I am so excited to be here. Juice said that I could play his game system." Of course, he would be excited. Juice's gaming system was impressive, even to non-gaming people like me.

"Well, I am glad you're both here." I grinned down at them. "We can get into some trouble later, because right now I have to go and find Gemma." I leaned close to them and whispered, "otherwise she might ground me. I will see you both in a little bit." I kissed both their heads and they ran off to join a few of the other kids that were there. I made my way passed Opie, who gently grabbed me by the arm.

I looked up at him in question. It wasn't like him to draw attention to us when in a public setting. "Thanks for making them feel comfortable Nor, especially Ellie. She is really having a really hard time with this lock down."

"No big deal Ope. Actually, I am glad they are here, they make a nice distraction." I confessed to him.

The look gave me made my loins set on fire, and I already knew I was losing my battle with my libido. "And what exactly do you need to be distracted from?" He licked his lips and my eyes landed on them. I wanted them on me immediately. Damn it, Opie knew exactly what he was doing to me because they then turned up in a smile. "I should let you go find Gemma. I will find you later, Mermaid."

Forget Gemma, I needed a fucking cold shower. I really should have learned by then that I needed to fight fire with fire. I was just hoping he was as pent up as I was; shit, I really hoped he was. I would get him back later, I thought as I made my way into the kitchen where I knew Gemma would be taking charge of the croweaters. She needed to have her hand in everything, even if she wouldn't admit it. She had a hard time handing control over, especially to the women who fucked club.

"Are you seriously going to put that there? Even after I told you it goes over there?" I heard Gemma bark as I neared the kitchen. Oh, that was never a good thing, an angry Gemma already. It made me rethink my current route, I could still turn around, go back to crowd and get lost in it. But then she would find me and give me a hard time. She truly would ground me.

I popped my head in the full kitchen, against my better judgement. "Hi, do you need any help?" I asked Gemma, who was glaring at one of the new Eaters.

"Get this one out of my sight right now!" Gemma snapped. She pointed at a slender, scantily clad blonde, who looked like she was close to tears.

I nodded, "Come on, we will go make sure the rooms are all set up and clean." I stepped away from the door and the blonde followed me. Gemma gave me a grateful look and nod as we walked away. I offered her a small smile and shrug in return.

"I like the color of your hair." The croweater said quietly as she followed me down the hall which was by far one of the quietest and most deserted places in the whole building.

I wondered if she was being sincere in her complement or if she was just trying to get on my good side. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Thanks." I stopped and turned to look at her. "My name is Nora. What is yours?"

Her blue eyes lit up when I offered her my name. Damn it, this girl was like a fucking puppy dog. "Misty. It's nice to meet you Nora. Are you an old lady?" She asked, it was an honest question because most of the croweaters treated me like one.

"No. My dad is a patch member. I grew up around here. Let me help you out with a few things…first don't cross Gemma again, she will make your life miserable. Just do what she says without questioning it. No matter what! Second, don't ask too many questions, especially of the members or their old ladies. Remember you are here for their pleasure." What the fuck was I saying? It was like a was a fucking brothel worker. Shit. A stupid giggle escaped my lips. "Just forget the last part. I cannot believe that I just said that." I shook my head.

Misty shrugged her bare shoulders, "It's true though."

Sure, we both knew it was, but I didn't need to be a bitch and point it out to her. "Yeah, but it was shitty of me to say it. So, please just forget that I said that part." I pulled open the closet that held all the cleaning supplies. "This is where all the cleaning supplies are and the next one over is all the clean linens, towels and toilet paper." I pointed to my right. "We can start in the rooms in the back; those are the ones that are not used regularly and will likely need all this stuff."

The afternoon went by quickly as we stocked and cleaned the rooms. I had learned a bit about Misty. She was originally from Las Vegas and long story short she ended up in Charming because one of the guys from Vegas brought her with him on a run, but he didn't want to take her back. So, Misty stayed in Charming. I found that liked her, sure she wasn't the brightest bulb, but she was nice and sincere which was hard to come by in a croweater or sweet butt.

We were finally down to our last few rooms, Jax's room, Tara would take care of it and two others. I knocked on the door on the room next to Jax's and there was no answer, so I walked in. I was met by a barely dressed and freshly showered Opie. For as much of me that Ope had seen, I had yet to see him without a shirt on and there he was in shirtless glory. I was glad I was the one who walked into that room and not Misty.

"Oh, sweet Jesus." I whispered as I quickly closed the door and placed my back against it, hoping Misty wouldn't follow me in the room. This was my own personal show. I allowed my eyes to travel over his bare tattooed chest. I swallowed hard before looking back up towards Opie's face.

"Is there something I can help you with Mermaid?" Opie was grinning at me, his hazel eyes bored into mine.

 _Fire with fire._ I reminded myself as I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself. "Nope. Just came to make sure the room didn't need anything." I made my way towards the bathroom but passed too close to Opie, who grabbed me and pulled me into him. My hands landed on his bare abdomen which was still slightly damp from his shower. He smelled so fucking good and oh my God the muscles that were under my hands. _Damn it…resolve crumbling…_ "Obviously you are going to need clean towels. What about toilet paper?" I tried to not think about the fire was burning white hot, deep within me. I knew if I looked up at Opie, I would lose control of the tiny amount of restraint I had left.

Opie chuckled. "We're good. Nora look at me."

I could feel Opie's eyes on me as I breathed hard against him. "No." I stared at the reaper tattoo on his chest.

He sighed deeply, then gently placed his hand under my chin and tipped my face up to look at him. His eyes searched mine. "And why exactly do you not want to look at me?" I could tell he was teasing me a bit.

I sucked the corner of my lower lip into my mouth, Ope's eyes followed it and he swallowed hard. "Opie, I…if I…fuck," No words would come to me. "I am so fucking sexually frustrated when I am around you, I can barely contain myself." I blurted out; I was barely able to contain myself the way it was. I wanted this man standing in front of me so badly. Every fiber of my being was screaming for me to utilize the bed behind him.

Opie laughed. "Is that it?"

I tried to pull away from him, that comment pissed me off, _is that all?_ Maybe I _was,_ the only one who was suffering. He had probably found relief with one of the croweaters. The very thought made me even more upset and I struggled to get free of Opie's grip. As bad as I wanted him, I couldn't stand the idea of him being with someone else while I was home with B.O.B. Shit, I couldn't handle the idea of him being with anyone other than me.

The more I tried to get free the tighter Opie's grip got. "Come on Nora, stop struggling." I held still knowing that I wouldn't get free unless he wanted me to. "Do you honestly think you are the only one who is suffering? Fuck, I feel like I have had blue balls since you climbed on the back of my Harley for the first time. I haven't been with anyone since the night you first watched the kids. She meant nothing to me and I only did it because I couldn't get the way your hands felt on my body out of my head. Nora, I wanted to get you out of my head, because I felt guilty. But you have just stayed there…you're always fucking here." He tapped his temple. "So, no you're not the only one who is fucking pent up, Nor."

That was it, with that admission I let go of my control and allowed myself to feel what I was for Opie. My lips crashed into his and I kissed him fervently. Ope's hand ran under the hem of my shirt and up my bare back. I moved my hands to the waist band of his pants and undid the button of his jeans. My hands ran under his jeans and just hovered along over the top of his boxers. Opie moaned against my mouth as his hands undid my bra. We began to back up towards the bed. Finally, we would both get the relief we needed so desperately.

The door to Opie's room flung open. We parted quickly and turned to see who had interrupted us. Misty stood red faced in the doorway. "Oh, my god I am so sorry." She said as she made a hasty retreat.

"Fuck!" I muttered as I reached around my back and relatch my bra. "I should go after her."

Before I left Opie pulled me into a hug and placed his forehead on mine. "Nora, remember you are driving me fucking crazy too." He planted a kiss on my lips and let me go.

I found Misty hastily putting our supplies back into the closet. "Hey." I said I grabbed a few of the things off the floor and put them into the closet.

Misty's face turned red. _Please girl, chastity was not a croweater virtue._ "I am so sorry that I walked in on you and Opie."

I shook my head. "It's okay. Thankfully, it was you and not one of his kids. Listen, please don't tell anyone about what you just saw. Ope and I are still trying to figure things out and honestly I want my dad to find out from me and not some gossip." I would have hated if he had found out about things progressing between Opie and me from some gossipy whore.

"I won't say a word, I promise." Her index finger crossed her heart. "You have been so kind to me. I would hate to lose that sort of thing here. Honestly, I am glad that you have a thing for Opie and not Half Sack." Her eyes got all glossy when she said his name.

The girl had a thing for the prospect, I couldn't fault her. Overall, Kip was a good guy and he was easy on the eyes. "Really? The prospect. Huh. Alright." I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled Misty with me towards the bar area of the club. If she was going to keep my secret, I could give her an in with Half Sack.

I saddled up to the bar where there was a small open space and pulled Misty up to the bar with me. Half Sack came over and smiled at me and glanced over at Misty quickly before turning back to me.

"Hey. What can I get you, Nora?" He asked.

Oh, was that how it was, I could read body language well enough to see was nervous around Misty. "Well, first of all you meet my new friend, Misty. And then you can get us both beers."

Half Sack smiled over at Misty, who smiled broadly back at him. Well that was it, the beers were forgotten, and they started chattering. So, I helped myself, just like any other day. I was just glad to play match maker for two lonely souls.

* * *

The thing about lockdowns is they were unpredictable. Some nights were quiet and solemn, while others were like a huge party. This night was turning out to be the latter. The party was in full swing and loud; I was not in the mood to party, so I hung out with Ellie and Kenny when he finally decided to emerge from the game station in Juice's room. I am actually pretty sure he got kicked out of there because I saw Juice walk back with a croweater.

Ellie snuggled into me and yawned. "I am getting tired." She admitted as I looked at her.

"Alright, lets go find your dad and make sure that everything is set for you two." I glanced over at Kenny, who looked equally as tired as his sister. "Come on kiddo." I stood and pulled Kenny with me.

Opie was at the bar talking to Jax and Piney. I touched his arm gently; he turned to look at us. "Hey sorry to bother you but the kids are ready to call it a night. I wanted to know if you had everything set up for them."

Ope nodded. "Yeah, they can have my bed for the night. Gemma has some blow up mattresses coming for them tomorrow. Do you want me to put them to bed?" He asked as he started to rise from where he was seated.

"No, I got it. And if they are sleeping in that full-size bed where will you sleep?" I though about offering to have Ellie sleep with me and he could share with Kenny but wanted to wait for his response. And the look in his eyes answered my question.

"I am sure I will figure something out." He smirked.

 _Goodness_. My body was lit on fire all over again. I wondered how much more of this I could take before I cracked and stripped naked before him, on lookers be damned. I took a deep breath.

"Say goodnight to your dad and grandpa guys." I gave them both a little push towards Opie. Their relationship with him was still strained but at least it seemed to be on the mend.

"Night, guys. Be good for Nora, what she says goes." He kissed both their heads and he directed them towards Piney. Who pretty much said and did the exact same thing as Opie. "Thanks Nor." Opie said.

I nodded, as the kids made their way back to me. "Come on kiddos."

Getting Ellie and Kenny ready for bed was easy, they were both knackered. I knew the feeling. I made my way back out to the party, but it seemed to have cleared out some. I went up to the bar where Half Sack and Misty were chatting still.

"Where is everyone?" I asked as Sack pushed a beer in my direction.

"Happy and Tig are in the ring. Fighting over some chick or something like that." His eyes shot in the direction of the door.

I needed to see that. The heat clung to the air even though the sun had set an hour before. I sat on the top of one of the picnic tables away from the crowd and watched the fight taking place in the ring. Happy and Tig were taking jabs at one another. Tig already had blood trickling down from his mouth. From what I could see Happy was still looked pristine.

My dad sat down on the seat of the picnic table. "How's it going Nor?" He patted my knee.

I sighed, "I'm doing well. How about you? You staying safe, Daddy?" I looked down at him with a smirk.

My dad chuckled. I loved his laugh, it made me happy just hearing it. "Yeah, I am. Thanks for checkin' in kiddo."

I turned my attention back to this fight. "Does Tig really think he has a chance against Happy?" I asked as Happy landed another punch, it sounded like crunching bones. I shuttered at the thought.

"You know your good ole Uncle Tig, it doesn't stop him from trying." My dad watched the fight, but he had a silly look on his face. "You know Nor, it seems like just yesterday, your little pigtailed self was annoying Jax and Opie by chasing them around in that very ring. Annoying little Nora always ruining their fun." He paused for a moment. It was sweet that he remembered that moment, because I didn't.

"It seems ironic that now that Opie is the one wanting to chase after you." He muttered non-chalantly.

 _Wait, What?!_ I had just taken a drink of beer and it proved to be the worse decision ever. I spit what I had in my mouth out all over myself and the picnic table. What I had swallowed as my dad spoke I choked on.

"What?" I managed between coughs.

My dad watched me, "Does that surprise you, Nora?" His brown eyes were studying my reaction.

I shook my head. "No, just hearing it from you, surprises me. Did he come and talk to you?"

"Yup. Nora, I just wanted to be sure that it is what you wanted. You deserve the world and if Opie is what you want, I will give it my blessing." He smiled up at me. I jumped down from my spot and hugged my dad. "I love you Nor. I just want you to be happy."

My giddiness was hard to contain, but I think I did a good job keeping it under wraps. "Thank you, Daddy. I love you too."

I sat with my dad for a little while longer watching Tig getting his ass handed to him. Even if he got a few good hits in, Happy was not wavering. "Well, Daddy I think I am going to call it a night." I needed to shower off the beer that was making me all sticky.

"Sure, thing kid. Oh, your set up on the roof like normal." He stood and made his way towards the ring. When I was younger, he had set it up for me because I was begging for my own room when we were on lock down. There were obviously not any rooms open so he came up with idea to put me on the roof and it just became my place when we had lock downs, unless it rained…then I needed to find another place to sleep. But then again when did it ever rain in Charming.

I was on my way to my dad's room, so I could shower and get ready for bed. The roof was not conducive to getting changed. As I reached for the doorknob of the room, Opie walked out of his dorm room. He smiled when he saw me and walked up to me.

"Thanks for taking care of those two." His lips met my cheek. I flushed. "You taste like beer. What happened?" He ran his hand over one of the wet spots on my shirt.

"Yeah, well funny story. My dad was reminiscing about days past when I used to annoy you and Jackson by following you guys around and chasing you. He mentioned something about how you are the one chasing me now. I didn't expect to hear that from him and I had a mouth full of beer when he said it." I looked up at him.

Opie laughed hardily. His laughter sounded like music to me, it was such a pleasant sound. "What did he say?" He asked me.

I shrugged like was no big deal. "I told him was crazy for even considering it. I have never had a thing for tall, bearded, tattooed men." I teased. "But I suppose if you want to know you should go find out for yourself."

Opie placed his forehead on mine and closed his lovely hazel eyes. He inhaled deeply and finally said, "Fuck, Nora. You are seriously driving me insane." His lips crashed into mine and he kissed me possessively. As we parted it, the kiss left me wanting.

"I should let you go find my dad. Plus, I need to shower, I am all sticky." I touched a sticky spot of bare skin on my chest. Opie surprised me by placing his mouth over the spot and licking and sucking the spot. A quiet whimper escaped my lips.

"All clean. Beer tastes good on you Nor." He smirked. "Now I need to go see a man about a mermaid. Maybe I will see you around later."

"Uh huh." My mind was slightly mushy from his mouth being on my skin. I tried to focus my thoughts. "I hope you are able to find a place to sleep tonight." I winked and went into the room.

I quickly showered and changed into a t-shirt and a pair of yoga capris. I went to the roof where my dad had someone set up a futon cushion with blankets and my pillows. I yawned at the sight of the bed. It looked so cozy and I was tired.

I climbed into my bed and looked up at the sky filled with stars and listened to the chatter of voices filling the air; it was such a soothing noise. My mind filled with memories that seemed like a life time ago. It was so nice to be home and to feel safe for the first time in such a long time.

I was drifting off to sleep when the sound of Harleys starting up, startled me. I jumped up and looked over the edge just in time to see the guys ride out of the gate. I sighed deeply and hoped they would all be safe. There was nothing I could do, so I climbed back into bed; tossed and turned for a while before sleep finally over took me.

When I woke up, the sun was just starting to rise over the horizon giving the sky lovely tones of purples, lavenders and pinks. I stretched and hit a body that wasn't there when I fell asleep. I turned on my side thinking it could be Ellie or Kenny, but I was surprised to see Opie. He was taking up most of the futon cushion. If I rolled the other direction I would have fallen off the side. I was shocked that I hadn't woke up when he got into bed with me. I had to admit that I was happy he found a place to sleep. Opie looked so peaceful as he slept, it was nice to see all his cares, worries and stresses were gone. It was almost as if he knew I was watching him sleep; he opened his hazel eyes and looked over at me. All I could think about was how could get used to waking up to Opie.

"Morning." I said quietly. "Glad you found a place to sleep."

A lazy smile spread across his face. "This is cozy." He spread his body out even more pushing me closer to the edge.

If we were to continue waking up next to each other I would need a larger bed. "Hey now. This is _my_ bed. Yours is downstairs." I gave him a gentle shove.

Opie put his arm under me and I snuggled closer to him. "I came up here last night after we got back, only to find you sound asleep. You looked so comfy, I decided to join you."

"You could've woken me up you know." I looked up at him.

"Believe me, Mermaid. I wanted to, but you looked so peaceful, I just couldn't." Opie smiled before kissing me. "And you're up now." Lust filled his eyes.

I felt that lust between my legs, but I was dying to know what my dad said to him. "What did you find out from that man about the mermaid?"

Opie rolled over, so he was hovering over the top of me. "Oh that, he said I could have a shot at her, but he didn't think she like tall, bearded, tattooed bikers."

"Oh, too bad for you." I giggled. "Maybe, you could change her mind." There was nothing else in that moment but Opie. He was an all-encompassing entity. Every breath I took was Opie.

A sly smile spanned over his face. "I know you showered last night, but I need to see for myself that you are clean." He pulled up the hem of my shirt up to just under my breasts. "Hmm." He ran his rough hand over my abdomen. "I think you missed a spot, just here." Opie placed his mouth where he said I missed the spot and started kissing his way up my abdomen towards my covered chest.

 _Oh my god!_ Instantly my hands went into his hair. The way Ope was making me feel was something I could never remember experience before. I felt like every guy I had been with up to that point didn't know what the hell he was doing because I had never felt on the verge of exploding as I did just then.

"Opie." I whimpered as his lips met my chest; my shirt was discarded to the side of the bed somewhere. And he continued his path up my body to my neck.

I released my grip on his head and moved my hands down his back. To my surprise he was not wearing jeans and only in his boxers. A bit presumptive of him, oh who was I kidding I would have let him do what ever he wanted to me at that point. I gave his boxers a good yank as a cue for him to take them off. Ope stopped what he was doing and rid himself of his boxers. And that man was just as well endowed as I though the would be.

"Someone is a little over dressed for the occasion." He moved his way down my body and pulled off my yoga pants and underwear in one quick movement. He leaned back and took in my body. He ran his thumb over my right hip, where I had heart shaped by delicate flowers tattooed. That was the first time anyone had ever seen that tattoo since I got it. There was something so erotic about how he touched me even if he hadn't meant it to be. He looked up at me before he settled himself between my legs.

Was this really going to happen? I was waiting for someone to barge through the door. It was as if Opie could read my mind. "Don't worry I stuck a chair under the door knob."

I laughed, "you read my mind."

"No more interruptions." He smirked as he thrust inside of me.

How had I gone six months without sex? I wondered as we moved in rhythm together. Having Opie inside of me finally feeling was pure ecstasy. I ran my hands up Ope's back and into his hair. He groaned as he moved his mouth to mine. I felt a familiar the fire building inside of me.

I moaned against Opie's lips as I burst and slipped deeply over the edge. Opie followed quickly after I finished climaxing. He stayed on top of me as we both heaved and tried to catch our breaths. He finally rolled over and pulled a condom off. Shit, I hadn't even thought about one and wait when did he put that on?

"Did you sleep with that on?" I asked glancing over that the discarded condom.

Opie laughed as I moved myself into the cook of his arm. "No. I put it on just before we had sex."

"You're Houdini." I smiled up at him.

Ope brushed hair out of my face, "Nora, you are really amazing and beautiful. I can't remember the last time I have been this happy."

"Me too, Ope." I gently caressed his face and beamed happily at him.


	9. A Whole New Feeling

_**Author's Note: Thank you all again for your continued patience with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

* * *

I could have spent the rest of the day on the roof with Opie, hell I could have spent all eternity in that moment with him. It had been ages since I had felt that way, actually I had never experience how I was feeling in that moment. Something inside me stirred and it was more than just my libido. I couldn't explain the feeling if I had tried, because I would have done it a grave injustice. There were just no words.

"We should really get moving. Some one is bound to come up looking for us, well you at least." Opie pulled me close to him and kissed me, his beard tickled my bare chest.

 _Yup, all day just like this would be perfect._

"Can't we just stay here? Just like this. Let them come find us." I smirked as I crawled on top of Ope and straddled him.

Opie moaned as his hands traveled up my thighs, over my abdomen and to the swells of my breasts. "Nor, there is no way I want anyone else to see these beauties." He gave them a gentle squeeze.

I laughed. "They are just breasts Ope. Everyone has them, it's a part of the human anatomy."

I had seen one too many pairs of breasts in my life and didn't understand the male fascination was with them. However, looking down at Opie I couldn't deny that he was graced with a stellar, tattooed physique. I could stare at it all day and I am sure the he would not understand my captivation with his body.

"Yours are perfection." He said as he rolled over on top of me. "And I am not into sharing." Opie kissed each one of my breasts, successfully starting me on fire all over again.

I whimpered. "Okay Ope, if you think we should get moving then you really need to stop doing what you're currently doing." His tongue traveled up my tattoo under my breast and to my collar bone where he allowed his teeth to graze the length of it. "Fuck…" I murmured.

"How you are feeling right now… I want you to think about it all day. I will meet you up here tonight." A sly grin crossed his handsome face before he kissed me and sat up in the bed.

We hadn't really defined what we were yet, so I decided to address that elephant in the corner, before we parted ways. "Ope?" I touched his back along his Reaper tattoo. He turned back and looked at me. "I know you talked to my dad about us, but I think we should just keep things under wraps for now."

"What's wrong Mermaid, you ashamed of me?" Ope teased, I was glad he seemed to know that was not what I meant at all.

"Hell no. But, I think we should let your kids get used to the idea that we are…starting something, whether is just sex or something more. I think I would like to see where it goes before, we announce it to the gossips down stairs." I stated.

I was, however, going to tell Tara every single glorious detail of our night, scratch that morning together. She was the one person in Charming I could trust with my newly budding romance. I needed to gush to someone, I knew Ope would tell Jax.

Opie nodded, "I think that is a good idea, Nora. And as for my kids, they will be thrilled to have you in their life, even if it is as their dad's fuck buddy or if it ends up being more."

 _Please let it turn out to be more._ I thought to myself.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Please tell them that. Kids, Nora is going to spend the night tonight because I am going to ravage and worship her body all night."

Opie started laughing as he stood up, it was nice to hear him laugh wholeheartedly. I was able to admire his nudeness as he started to dress. I wanted to draw him, all of him: his tattoos, his scars, his muscles, there was nothing about this man that did not pull me in.

"Definitely not going to tell my kids that, even if that is what I want to do to you. Let's start slow with them. You know all of us hanging out and doing stuff. It's nice to see how open they are with you, they are different kids when you are around." Opie pulled his pants up and buttoned them.

"That's because I am cool. Or so they tell me. Give them time Ope, they'll come around. A lot has happened to them recently. But I like that idea…dates with the kids. Perfect and a first." I smiled as I pulled the blankets up over myself. I wanted to go back to sleep, I was not used to the physical excursion I had just put my body though. But don't get me wrong I would have done it all over again, and again.

Opie knelt on the mattress and leaned his face towards mine, his hair created a barrier between us and the world. He took my chin and guided my lips to his; he gave me a gentle kiss. "I will see you later Nora." His hazel eyes were warm and reflected happiness, something in all the time that I had been home, I had not seen.

I smiled up at him, "Be safe." Opie nodded; I watched him until he walked through the door.

After Opie left, I had planned on trying to fall back to sleep, but between my thoughts and the sound of motorcycles I couldn't. I pulled on my clothes and made my way down to the clubhouse. On my way to the common room, I stopped off for a cup of coffee, not that I needed caffeine to fuel my day. Opie was the only drug I needed to keep me going at that moment. Shoot, I think if all mornings could start like that, I would become a morning person.

The club was filled with bodies; most of them were sitting at tables or on the couches eating breakfast or drinking coffee, however, there were a few people scurrying around cleaning or just pacing. None of the member of SAMCRO or visiting SOA members were out in the clubhouse. The doors to the chapel were closed so it was likely that church was in session. I settled in with my coffee and just took in the on goings around me.

It wasn't long before the doors of the chapel opened and some of the guys filed out. Opie was one of them. His eyes caught mine and he raised an eyebrow at me. The look hit me right between my legs and I shifted under Ope's gaze…he smirked; I was sure he knew what he was doing to me. I watched him and Jax make their way out of the clubhouse. There was purpose behind how they walked, they were on a mission. It was goddamn sexy.

"Someone seems in a better mood." Juice's voice pulled me from my thoughts of Opie and what had happened between us.

I glanced over at him as he sat down in a chair at the table. "Huh?"

"You have a giddy looking grin on your face. Figure out what was eating at you?" Juice's brown eyes studied me.

"I've known what was driving me nuts the whole time, just didn't think you needed to be privy to it. And as for my grin maybe I just like being in lockdown." I smiled broadly at him. "I thought you weren't speaking to me." I tried to change the subject.

Juice shrugged, "You're crazier than I thought you were if you enjoy being on lock down. Or you on one good drug."

 _If he had only known. I don't think I would have lived it down._

"To each their own Ortiz." I teased. "Actually, I hate being on lock down. There are too many people here. Too much commotion, I hate it." I was used to being locked away by myself working on art. It was my life, towards the end of my time in New York, locked away in the studio working on my final projects.

Juice nodded, "I might lose my mind this time too. There are too many damn kids hanging out in my room." He looked uncomfortable.

I snorted, "You do realize that you can tell them to get out don't you. They don't bite, well they might, but they are likely not rabid. Also, that is really your fault for telling them they could play your game system."

Juice frowned at me. "I don't want to be the asshole, who takes away their only source of fun."

Of course, he wanted to be the good guy. "Do you want your room back?" I asked. Juice nodded. "You really need to put on your big girl panties, Juice." I shook my head as I got up and made my way back to his room.

I opened the door and found exactly what I thought I would find. There were a pack of five boys lounging about on Juice's bed and on the floor. They barely looked from the tv screen. "Hey boys. It's time to give Juice back his room for a while."

None of the boys moved from where they were sitting, including Kenny, who was normally very compliant. "Seriously! Scoot, all of you. It's gorgeous outside, get moving."

Again no, movement or acknowledgement of my presence. It annoyed the hell out of me. _Sure, make me the bad guy Juice_. I thought to myself as I walked up the outlet on the wall and pulled the plug officially shutting down their games. Loud moans and yelling came from behind me.

"NORA!" They pretty much said in unison as I turned around and glared at them. Their little faces tried to glare back, and some were successful. Kenny was the only one who looked like he was going to crap himself.

"OUT NOW!" I said sharply. "If I hear one complaint from any of you, I will make sure that you don't set foot in this room again. If you tell me your bored, I am sure that someone can help find something for you to clean!" Damn it, I was turning into Gemma. The boys started out of the room in a silent anger. Fucking Juice, for making me the asshole. Oh well, they would get over it.

When I looked back at the room there was one kid who remained, Kenny. He walked up to me with a shameful look on his pale face. At least I knew that what was going to come out of his mouth was going to be sincere.

"I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you, Nora. I was trying to be tough." He stared up at me, there was something pleading in his hazel eyes. It broke my resolve and my heart.

I pulled Kenny into me. "It's fine buddy. Please don't let it happen again. Honestly Kenny, I don't care about other people's brats and if they listen to me but what I do care about is if you and Ellie listen to me. Okie dokie?" I kissed the top of his head and let him go, but Kenny held me tightly.

"I promise." His voice was barely a whisper. I couldn't help but wonder if he was thinking about his mom at that very moment. My heart ached deeply for Kenny and Ellie.

"Alright, now go find your friends. Make sure that you include your sister and the other girls if they are interested in what you are doing, even if the other boys are being jerks." I said as he released me and ran down the hallway in the direction of the other boys.

When I made my way back out into the bar, Juice nodded at me, as if I did a good job. He frowned at me when I got to the table. "You should have heard what those boys were saying about you."

I could only imagine what those little jerks had to say. Thankfully, they weren't permanent fixtures at the SAMCRO clubhouse, all of them were either croweaters' kids or some porn stars' kids. Those kids could be assholes, they were even as I was growing up. The boys all thought that if they were tough enough, they could become members of SAMCRO one day. Kyle Hobart was the only one who became a member and that turned out _great_ for everyone involved. He was a huge dick and was the whole reason why Opie ended up in jail. I was glad I was at the clubhouse the day he was excommunicated. He deserved everything he got.

"Oh, I am sure they had plenty to say." I shrugged as I sat down and grabbed my coffee, which was almost too cool to drink. "I unplugged the whole system and TV from the wall; I hope I didn't ruin anything." Honestly, it would have served Juice right if I had ruined his game system. Maybe then he would learn to man up and next time he would be able to tell boys to get out.

Juice shook his head, "just those poor boys' spirits, Gemma Jr." He laughed.

 _Oh no he didn't just call me Gemma Jr._

I narrowed my gazed and glared at him. "Shut up, Juan Carlos! I just saved you from being the asshole so be nice or I will go give the boys a green light to your room, for anytime. I would love for you to be fucking one of their moms and have them walk into that." I stood to leave, I didn't need to be around someone who was ungrateful, and he was ruining my Opie buzz.

Juice grabbed my wrist as I tried to make my hasty and annoyed retreat. "Thank you, Nor." His voice was surprisingly sincere.

I nodded, "you're welcome."

* * *

The rest of my day was not as eventful as my morning been. I spent most of it on the roof or hanging out with Ellie. My evening was spent in the kitchen helping Gemma and some of the Croweaters get food ready for dinner. Another reason I hated lock downs, I had to help play hostess, waitress and chef. I didn't care if any of those people ate or not, nor did I want to cook for them. Shit, I had a hard-enough time cooking for myself most days. Cooking was not my forte; I did not get my dad's culinary skills.

"Nora!" An out of breath and flushed Ellie came running into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" I frowned at her disheveled appearance.

She grabbed my hand and started pulling me out of the kitchen. "Kenny is in a fight with one of the other boys!"

I let go of Ellie's hands and quickly made my way outside. The fighting boys were surrounded by the other kids and some of the guys. I was about to go and break it up, but Juice grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Let go of me, now!" I barked at him, but he tightened his grip on my arm even as I tried to rip my arm free.

"Just let them fight it out Nor. You don't want these boys to call him a pussy, do you? If you break up the fight, he will lose their respect and you will lose his." Juice was very matter-of-fact about it.

Why was it that everything Juice said was true? Ugh I hated it when he was right.

"Don't let him get hurt too badly." I understood exactly what he was saying but even if it crushed me. I wanted to protect Kenny, but this was one of those fights he needed to take on himself. He would never gain the esteem from his peers that I knew he wanted and needed as a son of a SAMCRO patch member. I guess it was just the way things were when boys grew up in the MC.

Juice nodded as I walked away from the fight. I pulled Ellie with me. "Come on, Ellie, let's go help Gemma." She looked as if she was about to protest but followed. "Juice will make sure Kenny's okay." I didn't know if I was saying it to convince her or myself.

Thankfully Juice had been true to his word; Kenny came into the clubhouse with a bloody nose and an eye that looked like it was going to swell shut. I figured I would let Opie deal with Kenny, so I had just sent him to clean up and didn't discuss it further with him.

The atmosphere in the clubhouse completely different from the prior night, it was much more subdued. Sure, there was drinking and croweaters rubbing up on anything with a dick, but the party component was gone. Jax and Opie still hadn't returned by the time I put the kids to bed, and most of the club was gone too. I was not in any sort of mood to hang out with croweaters and members of random SOA clubs, so I went up to the roof.

I was snuggled under my blankets, doodling in my sketch book, when the sound of Harleys filled the air. It was a welcome and relieving sound, at least some of the members were back. I was mindlessly drawing, but when I focused on my drawing, I had drawn Opie's back, his reaper was the focus of the page. I hadn't set out to draw Opie; it just happened. So, I just kept at it.

I dozed off after finishing my drawing; the next thing I knew I woke up when there was movement on the mattress next to me. I opened my eyes and was met by the back I had just been drawing. I ran my hand across the word, California and over to one of his hip tattoos. Opie turned and looked at me, exhaustion was written across his face and body.

"Long day?" I asked as he laid down and held his arms out and gestured for me to snuggle up next to him.

I slid over and cuddled into the crook of his arm. "You don't even know Mermaid. I am glad that I am here with you now." He kissed the top of my head.

"I'm happy you're back safe and sound." I breathed in Opie's scent, he smelled freshly showered. "You smell good."

Opie chuckled. "I figured I ought to shower before coming up here. I don't think I was the freshest after my day."

I didn't question him further about his day but figured I should tell him about Kenny. "Did you see your son while you were down there?"

"Yeah, I saw the little shit head." A small amount of annoyance oozed from Opie. "He's going to have a nice shiner. I am sure that it's not going to be his last one. At least he had a good reason for the fight." He muttered.

I looked up at Ope, his hazel eyes were taking me in. "Is there ever a good reason to fight at his age?" I questioned.

A smile crossed Opie's lips, "If you're defending someone you care about, then yes. Kenny told me what happened this morning and that the boys wouldn't stop calling you a bitch, so he stepped up. Kid makes me proud."

I let his words sink in. Kenny got into that damn fight because of me. All because I had to be the bad guy in the game system debacle.

"Fucking Juice." I shook my head and considered getting up to give that stupid jerk a piece of mind, but Opie's laughter pulled me back into the moment.

"Simmer down, Mermaid. I can tell you want to go give Juice a piece of your mind, but I already did. He should have manned up and kicked those kids out of his room himself and not made you the bad guy. Either way it's done, and the boys know not to fuck with Nora…according to what Kenny said."

I could not wait for the lockdown to be over. "Kid needs to watch his language." I replied.

Opie chuckled at my annoyance. He gently pulled my hand to his lips and then looked at it. "What were you drawing?"

I gave him a questioning look; he turned my hand, so I could see the pencil smears on the side. I shook my head in response. "I was just doodling." I didn't want him to see the picture I had drawn of his back. It made me feel self-conscious about my art work.

A smirk crossed Opie's lips. "Well if that is the way you want it, then I guess I will have to take back the gift I got you."

"A gift?" I sat up and looked down at him. It seemed a bit early to get a gift from him, but I was not one to turn down a present.

"Yup." Opie stared up at me, it was hard for him to hide his amusement.

I reached my hand under my pillow and pulled out my sketch pad. I opened it up to the page I had been sketching on before I fell asleep and held it to my chest. I handed it to Opie, who was watching me. His eyes gazed at the page that held his back. I couldn't help but feel completely stripped bare as he looked at my art of him. It was rare for me to feel like that, it might have happened a handful of times throughout my life.

Opie sat there quietly for a moment before running his hand gently over the picture. He looked up at me and touched my face. "Nor, this is beautiful." He handed my sketch pad back to me. "You should never feel like you need to hide your art, especially from me Nora." Ope sat up and pulled me into a kiss. My gift slipped from my mind as I was lost in the vortex I knew as Opie Winston.

I woke the following morning and rolled towards Opie seeking a bit of warmth but found his spot empty. I sighed and pulled the blankets around me, it was an unusually cool morning. I tried to fall back to sleep but sleep wouldn't come. Of course! I made my way out of bed and noticed a single lavender rose sitting in a beer bottle. I smiled and brought the rose to my nose. It smelled only the way a rose could smell, lovely. I realized that this must have been the gift that Opie had mentioned the night before; before I got lost in him and his body. I smiled at the thought of our night together; I suddenly didn't want the lock down to end.

When I got to the common room, I saw Tara was sitting at the table with baby Abel cradled in her arms. I stood near the bar and watched her, there was nobody else in the room even though the it was full, in her eyes it was just her and Abel. She was totally smitten with him, I don't think the smiled could be erased from her face as she gazed down at the tiny baby. Tara only looked up from him when down next to her.

"Hey." She grinned at me. "How are you? I feel like I haven't seen you at all during this lock down."

That was not a lie. I don't think I saw her more than once while we had been there. Tara was one of the only people other than members who could leave. The hospital wouldn't have understood why she couldn't show up, so there was always a member on detail with her.

"I'm good." I smiled. "Really good actually." Opie popped into my head.

Tara gave me an all-knowing look. "Oh my GOD! Tell me everything!" She leaned forward in anticipation.

I smirked as I tried changing the subject because I knew it would drive her crazy. "You're a natural at this mothering thing." I touched the top of Abel's little head.

"Oh, no you are not getting away with that. Spill Nora!" Tara shook her head, her green eyes bored holes into me. She really wanted to know what happened.

Laughter left my lips at her reaction. "Do you really think I wouldn't tell you? I mean you are my closest friend in Charming." I looked around the room before leaning towards here. I didn't need anyone else knowing about Opie and me before we decided what we were. Or before his kids found out.

"I don't know what was exactly said between my dad and Ope, but he made it clear to my dad he wanted to pursue a relationship with me. Which was super sweet of him to take the right steps." I smiled, think about how awkward that must have been for Opie. "He showed me what he wanted the following day, and last night."

Tara smirked, "How is it, that it took you two so long to seal that deal?"

I liked that she understood we were speaking in some sort of code. It was nice to know, she could already read thing behind what I was saying. There was no way I wanted the word to get around about this. I am sure that most people would start wondering where he was, sooner or later.

"Oh, Tara, there were so many times that it could have happened, but something always got in the way." Mainly SAMCRO, but I knew how it was; the club came first. That is how it had been my whole life, even with my dad, even if he hated to admit it.

"We were probably the most deprived and pent up people in the whole of Charming, if not California." I laughed as I confessed the truth to her. "He left me a rose this morning." I smiled thinking about how sweet it was of him. The only other guy I got flowers from was a guy I had slept with and sort of dated, if that was what you called it, in New York. He wanted more, I wanted less.

"He's a good man, Nora." Tara said quietly. "Hold on to that one."

I nodded, Tara's words rang true to me; I couldn't think of one man in the club, other than maybe Jax that would have done what Opie had done. He could have slept with any of the Croweaters and there he was waiting for me. Men like that in the SOA life style were few and far between; those who were dedicated like Opie, were already in relationships. I suddenly felt so grateful and blessed.

"Believe me, I know Tara." I sighed. I was lucky to have Opie in my life. So lucky.


	10. Making New Memories

Chapter 10

* * *

The lockdown lasted another three days and I spent all those nights in Opie's arms. After that it was far too hard being home, I was lonely. I missed sleeping with a warm body next to mine. Actually, I really just missed having Opie next to me. I missed waking up next to him and smelling him on me throughout the day. I had to find a different way to focus my energy and thoughts, so I dove into my art and finally finished the kids' paintings of Donna.

It was about a week after the lock down ended when Opie invited me over to his place to have dinner with him and the kids. The morning I was heading over there I packed up the finished paintings, both of which I had wrapped in homemade wrapping paper I had decorated. I felt strange about giving the kids the paintings around Opie. I hated the idea of my art bringing up painful memories or making Ope feel some sort of regret when it came to me and our new relationship. I considered waiting but thought he might think I was trying to hide my gifts from him, so there was no time like the present.

By the time I reached Opie's house, my nerves were getting the best of me. I hadn't felt like that in ages; honestly, I couldn't remember the last time I had felt like I did. My stomach twisted in knots. I sat in my car with my eyes closed and breathing deeply for a few minutes before I was able to collect myself and I finally felt more of a resemblance of myself. I made my way to the door and as I was about the grab the knob the door swung open.

"It's about time you came in." Kenny shook his head at me.

I raised a questioning eyebrow at him, "Really? Were you spying on me?"

His laughter filled the air. "Yes. You know what?" Kenny leaned close to me and lowered his voice. "Dad is cooking for you. I don't think he knows what he is doing. You should hear the language coming out of his mouth." A grin crossed his face. That grin reminded me so much of his dad.

"How about I go in there and check in on him?" I put my bag down by the door and made my way into the kitchen.

Opie had his back to me, he was stirring something on the stove. I leaned against the wall and watched him; he looked so out of place in the kitchen. I giggled at his appearance. It wasn't until he turned around, I noticed he was wearing a _Kiss the Cook_ apron that was spattered with some sort of red sauce. I wanted nothing more than to obey that damn apron. It had been far too long since I had felt Opie's mouth on mine. I yearned for it.

I shook my head and wiped the side of my nose with my thumb like I was some tough guy. "What's this? I come here after I work hard all day and I find that my supper is not even on the table. You're probably burning it too." I smirked.

Ope laughed and then answered me in a sugary sweet voice, "But sweetheart, I had to clean the house and take care of the children."

He closed the space between us and embraced me. I tensed worrying that the kids might walk in on us. "Don't worry they have strict orders to stay out of the kitchen." Opie murmured as his lips moved towards mine.

I met his lips, oh, how I missed the feeling of them. I had even missed the tickle of his facial hair against my face. We parted and I felt cheated, I wanted more. I was greedy.

"Ope, I think that you are in fact, burning the food." I glanced around him at the food which was sputter redness all over the stove and had started to smoke.

"Shit!" Opie muttered as he quickly turned to the sauce. He threw the smoking pan into the sink and turned on the water. "How do you feel about pizza?" He asked with a frown.

I laughed. "Sounds great."

Opie nodded and pulled off his apron before making the call for pizza.

The pizza was delicious, but I hardly had an appetite. I forced myself to eat two pieces before I tapped out. There was too much riding on the night; between the paintings I had in my bag and Opie telling the kids about us.

"Hey guys, why don't you clear the table. I have something I want to tell you." Opie glanced at the kids and then at me. He smiled, it was content and easy. It eased my frayed nerves. I hoped they weren't showing because I felt like they were.

A moan of protest came from both kids. Before I thought about it, I blurted out. "If you guys hurry up, I have gifts for you too." At the promise of gifts, they jumped up and started cleaning off the table.

 _FUCK!_ I thought to myself as I rose from the table to go get the wrapped canvases.

"You didn't need to get them anything." Opie said quietly as I sat back down at the table. His hazel eyes searched my own.

"I didn't. I made them something." I barely whispered, hoping my gifts wouldn't drudge up too many sad memories.

Opie didn't take his eyes from me, even when the kids raced back into the room. "Okay the table is all cleared!" Ellie grinned with excitement.

Ope finally turned to look at his children. "I am sure that I already know the answer to this, but what do you want first, my news or gifts?"

We both knew what they were going to choose so it was no surprise when they both yelled "Gifts" in unison.

I took a deep breath and handed the paintings to the kids. I didn't watch them open them or their reactions. I watched Opie; his face hid his reaction, but his eyes didn't do as nearly a good job hiding how he was feeling. They filled with sadness. Before he could look in my direction, I was assaulted by hugs from Kenny and Ellie.

"Thank you so much Nora! I love it." Ellie smiled broadly at me. I hadn't seen her smile like that since being home, it eased my heart a bit.

"You're welcome, Ells." I hugged her against me again and stole a quick glance at Opie who gave me a small smile and mouthed _thank you._ I nodded in response, still not feeling easy with how he looked like he was feeling.

Kenny came around for another hug and to thank me. "This is my favorite picture of my mom. Thank you, Nora."

"You're very welcome, buddy." I kissed the top of his head and released him.

Opie gave his kids a sad smile. "Guys why don't you go find a spot for them in your rooms."

It was like he didn't want to be in the same room with my paintings. I knew it was a reminder of Donna and it hurt him. That the wound was still some what fresh for Opie, so I couldn't fault him.

The kids ran off towards their rooms with their paintings and chatted happily. Silence hung heavy between Opie and me; it was the first in my life I felt awkward around him. I turned my body, so I was facing him, but he was gazing out the patio window. He was lost in a memory or thought. Either way, I quietly stood, wanting to give him some space but I caught Opie's eyes gazing up at me. Those hazel orbs were filled with such gut retching sadness, that I felt my throat knot, I was on the verge of tears. I didn't know what to say, I just felt everything he was feeling all the pain and despair.

Finally, words came to me, "I'm sorry." _Say something else you, idiot._ "I am going to go check on Kenny and Ellie."

Opie just nodded in response. After seeing his reaction to my paintings, it made me wonder if we were too hasty in our relationship. Sure, we hadn't defined things, but Opie couldn't even see pictures of Donna without looking like it just happened. It made my heart hurt. I tried to push it away as I walked into Ellie's room where she was standing and looking at her walls.

"Hey, how is it going?" I feigned happiness.

"I don't know where to hang it." Ellie frowned. "I want to see it all the time."

I smiled, "Well if you hang it above your desk you will always see it." I pulled the picture that hung above her desk down and took the canvas from her. "What do you think of that?" I asked as we looked at the painting of Ellie and Donna, both smiling happily at us.

"It's perfect." Ellie beamed up at me.

"Good. I am glad you like it." I looked down at her.

"NORA!" Kenny must have heard me. I made my way out to his room and he was standing on his bed looking at his picture face to face.

"Ah, I see you have already found a place for your painting. I like it, bud." I said with a bit more happiness than I felt.

I sucked, I really wanted this moment to be all about the kids and not how crappy I felt and how shitty I made their dad feel. I wanted nothing more than to run away and stick my head in a hole.

"Nora…are you going to stay and watch a movie with us?" Kenny bounced on his bed.

I sighed. "I don't know buddy. I…"

"Of course, she is." Opie's voice startled me. "I already set up the movie, why don't you go get your sister and start making some popcorn for everyone."

Kenny jumped off the bed and ran past me. I didn't turn around and look at Opie even when I felt him right behind me. I stared at a spot on the floor. What the hell did Kenny spill on his floor, it was bubble gum pink.

"Nor?" Opie's voice was quiet. I stayed cemented in the same position. I knew if I looked at Ope, I would cry. "Nora, please look at me." He pleaded.

I turned slowly and willed myself to look up at Opie, but I couldn't stop the tears that were burning in my eyes. I tried to swallow the knot that was building.

"I'm sorry Opie. I should have told you." I sputtered.

Opie took me into his arms and embraced me. "Nor, it's okay. I don't know what I was expecting. Sometimes it's just hard to see her. It's just that I couldn't protect her or even to have been able to say goodbye. I feel like it is all my fault."

How could he think that he caused Donna's death? If anyone was at fault it was the club. For that I was sure. "Opie, you did everything you could to protect her. Nothing you did was the cause of her death. If what we started is too soon please just let me know. We can take a step back and just give it time." I stepped back giving each of us a bit of space. I wiped the tears from my face with the sleeve of my shirt.

"What if I can't protect you?" He mumbled quietly.

I snorted. "Ope, you don't need to protect me." _Liar!_ _Shut up inner monologue, I don't need to remember Sarah anymore, Juice saw to that._ "I just need you…"

"Where are you guys?!" Kenny's voice yelled and he appeared in the doorway. "What are you two doing?" He eyed us suspiciously.

"We were just talking buddy." Opie said without turning around, his eyes locked with mine. "We will be out in a minute. You better go claim your spot on the couch, before I do."

Kenny ran down the hallway yelling about where he was sitting on the couch. That spot ended up changing because he wanted to sit next to me. So, I was squashed between the kids on the couch both of who fell asleep during the movie. There were a few points throughout the movie I glanced over at Opie and he was staring at me and the kids. It killed me that I couldn't read his expression, it was too dark in the room. When the movie finally ended, Opie moved closer to us and picked up Ellie and carried her sleeping body back to her room. I grabbed Kenny and brought him to his room and tucked him in.

I started back towards the living room, it was probably time for me to go. I noticed the light was on in Opie's room. I glanced as I passed, he had taken off his shirt and looked like he was in the process of changing.

I stopped in the doorway, "I think I am going to head home." I said quietly to Opie.

"What?" He stopped what he was doing and stared at me.

"I don't have to go." Something inside me stirred as I walked into Opie;s bedroom.

* * *

Children's voices invaded my mind, but not just any children, Ellie and Kenny.

"Dad?! Did you know that Nora is asleep in your bed?" Kenny yelled, he sounded further away.

I stretched out in the bed; the last thing I remembered from the previous night was being snuggled with Opie and talking. We had just cuddled and talked. It was nice, we hadn't really had a chance to or choose to do since Opie had talked to a man about a mermaid. I climbed out of bed, not wanting to overstay my visit, since Opie hadn't told the kids about us yet.

I made my way down the hallway and Opie's voice made me stop where I was. I just listened to him, I had missed part of what he said.

"I want you both to know how much your mom loved you both. She would be so proud of the people you are growing into. I know you two miss her and wish she was here. I hope you both know how much I loved your mom, even when I wasn't here with you guys. I thought of her and both of you every moment I was away." I immediately felt inadequate. I started to step back towards the room, but Opie's words pulled me back in. "This has been a very sad time for all of us because there has been a giant void in our lives without your mom. I feel like Nora has helped fill that void."

"We love Nora." Ellie said quietly.

"I don't know if you two know it, but she has helped me too. I wanted to know what you thought about me seeing Nora. I want you to know that she will never replace your mom and she will help you keep the memory of her alive." Opie was tentative.

Both the kids yelled "YES!" in unison.

I took that as my cue to walk through the entryway in the kitchen. Kenny and Ellie were both sitting on the kitchen counter with their backs to me. Opie had them both in an embrace when his eyes met mine.

 _Thank you._ I mouthed to him. He responded with a wink.

Shit, I got the approval of the kids and he got it from my dad; there was nothing standing in our way.

* * *

"So, tell me again what you are going to be doing." Gemma stared at me in disbelief.

"Going camping." I shrugged like it was something I did every day. When in reality I did not know the first thing about camping. "The kids have been asking to go, so we are going. I tried to suggest backyard camping, but that was a big fat no from them."

Gemma shook her head, "Does Ope know that you, don't know how to camp?"

She had found out about Opie and me, when she walked in on us kissing in the office of Teller-Morrow. We hadn't made our relationship very public, but we also didn't go out of our way to hide it from the club. We were still trying to figure out how we fit together as a couple; didn't need to involve the whole club in that relationship as well. Once Gemma found out I was sure we made the right decision of not telling the club yet. She wanted to know everything about how things were going. Hence our conversation about what we were doing over the weekend.

"No, but I think we are actually just staying at Piney's cabin." I was glad that Opie had suggested that, so we still had modern amenities still. I don't think I could go a weekend without running water.

Gemma laughed, "Well that's good sweetheart. Close enough but far enough away and there is still privacy for you."

I was about to say something to her, but they guys filed out of the chapel. There was something happy about how they were talking. Most of them were laughing and boisterously talking. Opie had asked me to swing by his house and pick up the kids. He had everything that we needed packed in his car and we were going to head out after Church.

"Princess." My dad kissed my head as he walked by on his way to the bar.

I stood and followed him, if only to get away from Gemma. I needed a break from her prying. "How's it going Daddy?"

He chuckled, "Now do you really want to know that, or do you need a break from Gemma?" He had lowered his voice so she would not hear him.

I couldn't help but laugh at my dad's intuition. "I suppose a little bit of both. I mean I do want to know how you are doing. I feel like we still haven't been able to spend much time together since I got home."

I knew he was thinking _and whose fault is that?_ "I know. I get that your priorities have changed from spending time with your old man to spending time with your new man." He smiled and hugged me to him. "We will find time, I have no doubt about that."

A hand touched the small of my back and I turned to see who it was knowing that only one person would touch that intimately. "Hey, you ready to go?" Opie smirked down at me. "Where are the kids?"

I smiled up at him. "Yes, and they are outside, I couldn't get the to come in, I think they are super excited about going camping."

"How did he rope you in to camping sweetheart?" Tig's asked as he came up to the bar. "Needs to bring the nanny with him. Damn it, I wish I had a nanny when my girls were little. Hope he is paying you well." There was a twinkle of mischief in Tig's icy eyes.

I glanced up at Opie, who shrugged with an amused look on his face. I giggled at Tig. "What's wrong Tiggy? Are you jealous?" For some reason Tig had thought that I was Ope's nanny, so we let him believe that. Little did he know how far from the truth he was.

Tig nodded in admission, "Actually…yes. You want to nanny for me?"

If I had been drinking anything, I would have spit it all over him. I was not expecting that response. "Your girls are too old and if you are thinking for yourself, well I don't change diapers. Plus, Opie pays me too well to leave." Opie and my dad both laughed hardily at my retort.

Tig threw his hand over his heart. "Ouch Nori, just ouch."

I laughed. "I am sure that you will find someone to fulfill your fantasy over the weekend." I winked at him as Opie and I took our leave. "Bye Daddy."

"Be safe Nora." He smiled and gave Opie a nod and a look as if today keep my kid safe or else.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Tig yelled after us. Opie and I both laughed heartily.

The drive to the cabin was peaceful, the kids happy chatter died off about half way up, when they both fell asleep. Opie took my hand into his while he drove us through the winding roads up into the mountains. It had been ages since I had been to Piney's cabin; my dad had brought Tiki and me up to the cabin when we were younger. It brought back memories; mostly happy memories. Now it was time to make more good memories with Opie and the kids.

"You look content." Ope glanced at me and gave my hand a squeeze.

I smiled at him. "I am. Thank you for making this trip happen. I have to admit something."

"And what is that?" He had a bit of humor in his voice as if he knew what I was about to say.

"I do not know the first thing about camping, so I am glad that we are going to the cabin." I admitted.

Opie's laughter filled the car. "Oh Nora. So, there wasn't much camping in New York City?"

I laughed, "No. Honestly the last time I was _camping_ was at the cabin with my dad and Tiki. I think I had to have been 15 or so. I hated every minute of it. I wanted to go to some party a friend was throwing." I paused for a moment before continuing. "Now I am glad I have that weekend with my dad and Tiki. I will never get moments like that with them again. I'm so happy I have those memories and to make new ones at the cabin." I smiled thinking about it.

A sad smile crossed Opie's face. "The last time the kids were at the cabin was before I was right before I ended up in jail. We came up and spent the weekend with my old man. And you're totally right Nor, I am glad we get to make new memories and give the kids good ones to remember."

The remainder of the drive we chatted about what we were going to do up at the cabin. The kids were set on sleeping in a tent, me not so much. I was not an on the ground sleeper. Don't get me wrong I liked sleeping outside and under the stars but just not on the ground. Opie told me he had something else for us, but it was a surprise. I loved surprises, well good ones.

"Nora, Kenny and I have to run to the store." Opie walked into the house, where I was getting settled in and putting away our groceries. "I had the audacity to forget the stuff for s'mores." He smirked.

I laughed, "How dare you!" I feigned shock.

"Do you need anything or think of anything we could use now that you see what I packed?" Ope questioned.

I shook my head, "Not that I can tell."

He kissed the top of my head. "Alright well stay out of trouble while the men are gone."

"I am nothing but trouble." I grinned.

"Oh, don't I know." Opie's smiled as he left me.

* * *

"To many happy memories." Opie tapped his beer bottle against mine, before taking a drink out of it.

The kids had tuckered out earlier than I thought they would, but I suppose the excitement and the fresh air wore them out. It left Opie and me alone by the fire, I snuggled up next to him and watched the fire slowly flicker. That moment was what life was meant to be, sitting and enjoying the small moments in life. It was such a peaceful moment.

"So where exactly will we be sleeping tonight?" I questioned as I looked up at Ope.

Opie stood and put out the fire. "Come with me." He held out his hand for me.

I took his hand and followed him to the back of the cabin. There were bistro lights hung across the yard, adding enough light for me to see a mattress had been set out under the trees. On the picnic table next to me, there was a single red rose in a beer bottle. I stood in awe of his thoughtfulness.

"Say something, Nor." Opie's voice was quiet in my ear.

That man yet again, left me at a loss for words, a hard task to do or so I have been told. Instead I let my actions speak the words I could not find for me.

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you to all my dedicated readers, new and old! This was one of my favorite chapters to write mainly because of the moment with Tig. Ang, again thank you for all your support as I write this story, you have been a HUGE help and I don't know what I would do without your beautiful mind or friendship! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. Some shit is going to be come down the line here in the next few chapter. :/ Until the next time._


	11. Where Do I Fit?

I slipped my hand into Opie's as we walked the wooded trail to the beach. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Ope looking down at me. I turned in time to catch his eyes and a content smile on his face. He stopped and pulled me to him; his lips met mine. As we parted Kenny and Ellie's giggles could be heard from ahead of us on the trail. It made me suspicious that they had been watching.

"Those little shits were spying on us; I just saw them run off." Opie smirked.

I look up at him through my lashes, "As long as they are not spying at us at night." I smirk and pull him with my up the trail. That would be an interesting conversation to have with the kids.

The walk took maybe ten minutes and by the time Opie and I reached the clearing to the beach the kids had already rid themselves of their things and were running into the water.

"Hey guys don't go out too far." Opie yelled after them and then he looked over at me. "Holy shit Nor."

I give him a sly smile. I had taken off my tank top and shorts to only be left in my black bikini. "What?" I laid down on the blanket I had placed on the ground and closed my eyes. I fully intended on getting my California glow, that I had lost when I was in New York.

I felt the blanket shift, "Do you need some help putting sunscreen on?" Opie's voice was low and closer than I expected.

I popped my eyes only to be met by Opie's face inches from my own. How had I not felt how close he was? "If you sit like that, I won't need any sunscreen, but I will also have a strange Opie shaped tan line." I stuck my tongue out at him. He surprised me by catching my tongue gently between his teeth before kissing me.

"Oooohhh!" Kenny's voice bellowed. "Dad and Nora sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He teased.

"Did your son just tease us for kissing?" I sat up and looked around Opie at Kenny, who was giggling with Ellie.

Opie chuckled, "Seems that both of them are." He turned just in time to see the kids making kissy faces at us. "I think they need us to show them who the adults are around here." He had a mischievous grin crossed his face as he stood and took off his shirt.

We made our way out to the water where the kids were waiting. It was as if they knew were going to get them. Water splashed me in the face; their assault started before ours could. I splashed water towards the direction of the kids. Their laughter intermingled with mine and Opie's as we had a water fight with the kids.

The water fight soon turned to boys verses girls. Ellie had decided that I was her personal shield, so in all honesty I was the one getting splashed. I had finally had enough; I held my hands up.

"I surrender!" I laughed as I made my way towards Opie and Kenny. "You win!" Ellie's displeasure with my surrender hit me from behind in the form of water. "Hey. I thought we were on the same team." I grinned at the smirking girl.

Opie smiled as me as he took me into his arms. "I will let you give me by prize tonight." He whispered into my ear before gently biting it.

That trip created within me a whole new appreciate for camping, getting away and unplugging from Charming and SAMCRO. It also ignited with in me a small flame of love within me for Opie, although I would never admit it at that point.

* * *

It was hard for me to believe we had only been home for a week from our lake vacation; it seemed like ages ago already. Opie had dropped me off and I barely got through the door and sat down on the couch before my phone rang, it was Opie asking me if I could keep an eye on the kids for a few days, so he could go on a run with the club. There it was, he fell right back into his role with SAMCRO. As soon as we got back to Charming it was a switch flipped in Opie, he went from my carefree boyfriend, back to a brooding, badass biker, who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

 _Don't get me wrong I enjoyed both of those aspects for so many different reasons._

The few days had turned into a week, I had just heard from Opie that morning saying they would be home later in the afternoon. As much as I loved Kenny and Ellie, I need a break from the kids; I wasn't used to being anyone else's care taker. Hell, some days I couldn't even adult enough to take care of myself. I was looking forward to some adult conversation, it was the first time that week that I had made an appearance at the clubhouse. I had tried to keep Kenny and Ellie busy throughout the week, so we could all keep our minds off their father. I suppose it was a win-win. We kept our minds off Opie and the kids were exhausted by the end of the day.

"Hey Nora?" Kenny pulled on my hand after I go out of the car. I looked down at him, "can we go and play?" He pointed towards the other kids.

I smiled down at him, "Of course. Just stay out of trouble until your dad gets here and then you can run as much of a muck as your heart desires."

Both the kids nodded and ran off towards the other kids. Most of them were the children of Croweaters or one of the Teller-Morrow employees. I wondered if any of those kids were spawn of any of the Sons. Heck, those men went through Croweaters like they were disposable. I suppose to the guys they probably were. I don't know how the Croweaters did it, never being with just one man and always being passed around and used for whatever the club member wanted. Maybe that was why their kids tended to be pains in the ass.

I was glad that I could trust that Ellie and Kenny would make good choices, one of the many things I was glad Donna had instilled in her children before she passed away. Overall, they were great kids; I really had nothing to complain about.

I walked into the clubhouse; Gemma and Tara were sitting at one of the small round tables cooing over Abel. I waved at Half-Sack as I made my way over to the ladies. Poor guy always left out of the fun or trouble, so I guess there a bright side.

"Well look what the cat-drug in." Gemma smiled at me. "Thought a bear ate you in the wood and Opie just left you for dead." She teased, knowing he would never do that, but I also hadn't around, which in the past was abnormal for me.

"Nope, I am very much alive. I have just been busy taking care of Kenny and Ellie. I actually did quite well with camping, thank you very much." I sat down at the table. "How have you guys been?"

Tara shrugged, "Busy, I am glad that Jax is going to be home." She left it at that, I could tell that there was more that she wanted to say but she didn't. I felt like she felt similar to how I was; at least she had a job to escape to during the day, I couldn't even slip away to my studio.

"I've been busy too. Thankfully with most of the guys gone, we have been able to take in a few less jobs at Teller-Morrow. So, how was camping?" Gemma asked.

I was sure I had a goofy smile on my face, "I was really good. I saw a completely different side of Ope while were there. It was really nice seeing how he is without the stress of the club hovering over him."

Gemma clucked her tongue. "You will always have the club in your relationship if you choose to continue it with Opie. You know how it is sweetheart, you grew up in this shit. It's in both of your blood, it will always be a part of your lives."

Oh, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I decided to pursue a relationship with Opie. I knew it when I thought I was in love with Jax.

"Club comes first. I am very aware of that Gemma." I said with a bit of bite to my voice. I had learned that with my dad, he just set the ground work for any relationship with a patch member in my future. Thankfully, before Gemma could knock me down a few pegs, the sound of Harleys filled the clubhouse.

I jumped up and made my way out of the building in time to see SAMCRO filing into their parking spots. Kenny and Ellie were running towards Opie. I walked towards the group and stopped at my dad.

"Hi Daddy. How was the run?" I asked knowing not to ask any questions I wasn't privy to, so I kept it broad.

My dad looked at me with a smile on his tired, road weary face. "It was good. How were things in Charming? Glad to see you kept those two alive and seemingly in one piece." He eyed Kenny and Ellie, who were chattering happily to Opie.

I snorted. "Just because I can't keep a plant alive doesn't mean I can't keep kids alive." I pushed him as he chuckled. "Plus, they tell me when they are hungry." I winked at him.

"Well there is a plus." He gave me a quick hug and kissed my forehead before he turned to go inside.

I walked towards Opie and the kids. "Hey." I smiled at him. "Welcome home."

He said nothing to me, instead he took me into his arms and kissed me. The kiss took me by surprise but not enough to not be immediately filled with passion for Opie. I wrapped my arms around him and gave into his lips. We parted and I smiled up at him.

"I've been wanting to do that all week." He kissed the top of my head. "How have you been Mermaid?" He asked as we walked towards the clubhouse, Opie's arm was wrapped around my waist.

"Good, but I am certainly better now." I felt a bit like I was floating on a cloud.

Tig stared at us as we walked passed him. "Wait!" He barked at us, we stopped. "Nora? Is this hoodlum bothering you? I mean he leaves you with his kids and then he accosted you in the parking lot, in front of you family none the less."

Opie snorted. I laughed. "It was just payment for staying with the kids." I winked at him. "Oh, and he didn't do anything I didn't want him to do." Actually, I wanted him to do more, but like hell I was going to tell Tig that.

Tig placed his hand over his chest and feigned a broken heart. "Oh, Nori, if there were only women like you around when I was younger…maybe I would have stayed married. Nah, who am I kidding." He laughed. "No woman could tie me down."

"Or tolerate you for that long." Opie smirked as he guided me towards the door. We left Tig before he could respond and probably still contemplating what he had just witnessed in the parking lot.

It was nice having everyone back, the previously empty clubhouse was bustling and full of happy voices. It was such a warm feeling; this was my family and really where I was meant to be. I had come back from New York with such a different prospective, then when I had left. I had so badly wanted to separate myself from the MC and its lifestyle; only to find myself yearning for it. Sure, it sucked in many ways, but I also knew that every single one of the people, who currently surrounded me would drop everything to help me. That was not something I found easily in New York. I finally felt a bit of contentment in my life.

"You want a beer, Nor?" Opie asked me quietly in my ear.

I nodded. "Yes, that sounds wonderful, but I am pretty sure my boss will fire me if he found out I am drinking on the job." I grinned at him.

Playfulness flashed across his hazel eyes. "He would certainly punish you. But I am pretty close to him, so I will put in a good word for you." He sauntered away.

God damn, I was one lucky woman.

I sat down at one of the tables and waited for Opie to return with my beer. I watched him talk to Jax at the bar. They were both laughing about something. I was so engulfed in watching Opie that I hadn't even noticed Tig sit down at the table next to me; it wasn't until he spoke that I realized he was there.

"Nora, you want to tell me what is going on between you and Ope?" He questioned me, in only a way he could. It was an awkward, overprotective father moment from him. I had never felt that way with my own dad, he had always let me make my own mistakes and never really questioned my choices. He had always been very supportive and only offered his advice when I asked. I wondered if Tig's daughters felt uncomfortable with his advice, or if they even sought out his opinion.

I glanced over at him, confusion rushed over me because I was sure it was pretty obvious to everyone but Tig. "Um, what exactly do you mean Tig?" I frowned, not really wanting to have that conversation with him, although I appreciated his concern.

"Are you his old lady?" Tig asked.

 _Was I?_ We hadn't discussed it and the display of affection that Tig had seen was a first. "I don't know I am. We are still trying to figure out where we fit into each other's lives. Don't worry Tig, before you ask, my dad is very aware of what is going on. Ope talked with him. What I do know is, that I am not just a nanny." I patted Tig's hand as I stared into his concerned icy eyes.

"As long as you aren't turning into one of the girls." He nodded towards the closest Croweater.

I held back a snicker. "Nope, that phase passed sometime when I was 17. Tiggy, I really appreciate your concern, but I am an adult now and I am completely capable of making my own choices." I stared at him. What I really wanted to tell him butt out of my love life since it really didn't involve him. "Honestly you should be happy that I chose a son over one of the pricks I date in New York."

Tig nodded. "If he hurts you, I'll…."

"You'll what?" Opie growled as he glared down at Tig. There was tension between the two men, that much I could tell. I could tell why; things between them seem light when we were in the parking lot.

Tig muttered something I couldn't make out before forcefully getting up from the table and making his way across the room. I felt like he didn't think get far enough away from us after that interaction.

Opie sat down and placed a beer in front of me. "What was that about?" He asked me; there was an edge to his voice.

I shrugged. "Tig, trying to be an overprotective father type figure. I suppose he sees me as a kid still and feels the need to protect me and snoop in my life."

"Hmm." Opie frowned, his mind was somewhere else.

I touched his face and he caught my wrist tightly in his hand. It hurt as I tried to pull it away from him, but he didn't let go, he just loosened his grip some. His hazel eyes were stormy; this was not the same Opie I walked into the clubhouse with. He didn't say anything, he just stared at me.

"You want to tell me what is going on between you two?" I asked quietly as finally pulled my wrist free. I rubbed as if it would take away any of the ache that he had caused.

Opie shook his head, "I just don't want him nosing around in our shit."

I could tell there was more than he was telling me. There was something sad hidden within his eyes. I could see he was trying to hide it, but I was could read people pretty well and it was there. Plus, both of their reactions were a little too much for Tig just being nosy. I wanted to push Opie and find out more, but I decided that it wasn't the right time or place for that, so changed the subject.

"So, did you find out if my boss is going to _punish_ me for drinking this beer?" I took a long drink out of the glass Opie had sat down in front of me.

His pensive look was replaced by a sly smile. "Oh, I am sure he could figure something out. I mean I am sure he will take into account you kept his kids alive for a week and that you are still talking to him after he said he would be home in a few days and didn't come home for a week."

I laughed. "Maybe I should be the one punishing him. I have been overworked and completely neglected for a whole week."

"I can help with the neglect." Opie smirked.

That night we never made it back to either of our places. We ended up staying in one of the dorm rooms and Opie was true to his word and made up for every bit of neglect I was feeling and then some. Like I had said before I was a very lucky woman.

* * *

Opie and I had been spending quite a bit of time together since he had got back from the run, the kids were always a part of what we did. The sight of Kenny and Ellie getting closer to their dad was the best thing I had witness, since coming back to Charming. That being said we had not been alone in ages and we were actually going to get some alone time; the kids were going to stay with Donna's parents for a few weeks. I was looking forward to the alone time,we had not spent the night together since he had gotten back from the run. I was pent up to say the least!

"Hey Mermaid." Opie walked by me and kissed my head before sitting in the chair next to me.

"Hey. When are you heading out with the kids?" I asked, looking up from the art and creativity book, I was reading. It was one that one of my professors had recommended and it actually sounded interesting.

"We are leaving in about fifteen minutes. I am sure that Donna's parents will be there early so we should actually have left about a half hour ago." He grimaced.

Opie had told me this was the first time he was going to see Donna's parents since her funeral. We spoke of me going with for the six-hour round trip drive, but in the end decided it would be best I didn't. Donna's parents were still in deep mourning over the loss of their youngest child. They didn't need me showing up with Opie, it really would have rubbed the salt into their wounds. The kids would probably talk about me, but at least they didn't have a face to put with a name at that point.

"Well you should get your ass moving then." I smirked at him. "I should go say goodbye to the kids." I stood and Ope stood with me and as we walked out of the clubhouse, he took my hand into his.

"I really wish you would come with me to drop the kids off." He murmured.

I shook my head. "Ope, we've already been through this. Sure, you can tell them I am the nanny, but the kids would tell the truth about me. And you can not ask them to lie to their grandparents Opie." I could see the look on his face that said that he would ask them to just avoid their questions about me.

Opie groaned. "Yeah, but this drive is going to fucking suck."

I smiled over at him. "Hey, if you were on your Harley, you wouldn't say that. So just enjoy the time with the kids and then on the way home the alone time. I will be here when you get back. I am sure I will be wrist deep in some sort of project from Gemma." I grimaced at the thought of having to do another project for Gemma. I was sick of cleaning and dealing with paperwork. "Maybe I should tell Gemma her projects stifle my creativity." I smirked at Opie.

"Oh, I am sure that would go over well." He stopped and looked over towards the kids, who were on the playground. "Guys come on." He announced to them, then turned back to me. "If you say that I want to be around."

I couldn't help but snort. "If I say it there is going to be a room full of people so they can witness her murdering me."

"Nora!" Ellie ran at me. "I am going to miss you so much!" She hugged herself to me.

"I am going to miss you too. Both of you." I ruffled Kenny's hair as I hugged Ellie. "Promise me, you will be good for your grandparents."

Both the kids nodded in unison. I knew they would listen to me better than they would Opie.

"Alright guys, we need to go." Opie interrupted.

"I will be here when you get back. I want to hear about everything!" I let go of Ellie and hugged Kenny to me quickly.

"Of course!" Kenny smiled up at me. "Take care of Dad." The last part he whispered, and it made my heart hurt.

I nodded. "Always. I will try to keep him out of trouble." I kissed his head and let him go. That was the point when I realized that Kenny was far wiser than his years.

I walked with Opie and the kids to the car. It was kind of a bittersweet moment for me. I couldn't wait for Opie to come back and we could be alone, but I was really sad to see the kids leave. They were one of the constants in my life, I had always had Ellie and Kenny. They had been there through my teen years and now through my adult years. Sure, I had SAMCRO, but it just wasn't the same…I was really going to miss the damn kids. But shit, I could NOT wait to have Opie in my bed again.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you so much for the newcomers and old readers! Some goodness is coming in the next few chapters! I am so excited about it. I think this chapter was just an in between to see where Nora the Winston family fit together. Obviously, she is fitting in well! Hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to let me know what you think! I love hearing. 😊**_


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